Slowly I fall in love
by girloftheweek
Summary: Derek has a story in this book. How does he feel about Chloe as the story progress. This is my take on how he first is indifferent and slowly starts to fall in love with Chloe. Language and Dirty thoughts may exist in later chapters, but nothing too bad.
1. Arrival

Hello, all. This is my first fanfic and I hope you all enjoy it. PLEASE keep in mind that the most difficult chapter is usually the first and my next shall be much, much better. Please enjoy and read and review.

Btw: I do not own any rights, properties or anything really that is associated with Darkest Powers. All I own is three books and a little imagination .

Tori was in one of her moods. She had just heard from Mrs. Talbot that there would be a new girl that would be arriving this afternoon. The thing that really threw her was the fact that this girl was going to room with Liz. I ignored the wicked bitch of the west as lessons went on, but was annoyed at the amount of aggravation she was giving Simon.  
She chose to ignore all the signs that he wasn't interested. No matter how much I told him to just tell her plainly, "Hell no!" he would never do it. I may have trouble relating to people, but I never had these problems.

Internally, I winced. _ Of course you don't have those problems, when you look like this. _

I shook my head, slowly clearing all of _those _types of thoughts away. Didn't matter if I looked like Tori's, or really anyone's, dream. In fact, that sounded like my personal nightmare.

Just then Tori started whining even louder than before. "Mrs. Talbot! Liz and I are _FRIENDS_. Best Friends. We should have already been rooming together. Why does some new girl get to be in her room?"

Mrs. Talbot looked at her, obviously annoyed at the now ten minutes of pleading. "She will be sharing a room with Elizabeth and that it the last I will hear of it, Victoria." She gave her a stern look and exited the room, mumbling obscenities so low under her breath, I knew that I was the only one who could hear them.

Tori looked pissed. Whoever this new girl was, she was not going to be receiving a warm welcome there. Simon stood up and stretched, his work for the day finished just in time. Tori would be looking for someone to complain to. Mrs. Wang excused him and I hurried to finish my English assignment. Minutes later, the entire page was filled with an articulate essay and Wang excused me as well. I listened for where Simon was as I got up. He was in the media room, mumbling spells under his breath. As long as he didn't say the last word, nothing would happen, but he thought saying most of the spell would keep him from tripping up in case of an emergency. The words could be very long and since they were in Greek, Latin, and French, they were difficult for Simon to keep straight.

I walked to the kitchen before joining him. My stomach was already hungry, even with breakfast being only a few hours before. Rustling in the panty, I listened for Mrs. Talbot or any of the other nurses. Leaving the kitchen with my apples, I heard hushed voices at the end of the hall opposite from the media room. I quickly backed up until I was inside the door and out of sight of anyone passing by.

Even with their voices extremely hushed, I could hear easily with a bit of concentration.

"Chloe is going to be here at around three. She was given Ambien to help lessen the stress." That was Dr. Gill. "So don't expect a lot from the girl."

"Okay." A pause. A shuffle of paper. "A classic case of schizophrenia?"That voice was Talbot.

"Well, seeing ghosts in the hallways of your school isn't exactly normal. Don't forget to call Mrs. Enright about Tori. She can't be acting that way." There was a small noise and two pairs of feet paced quickly. "Well, someone was out in the hall. It was one of the girls, I believe. We'll have to continue our discussion later."

Seeing ghosts? I shook my head, waiting for them to leave Dr. Gill's office. Sounds like… It sounds like I would have to watch this girl closely. Nothing was impossible. For now, it was time to hang out with Simon.

After going outside and playing ball for a short break until the next rounds of classes, Simon and I were back in class with the crazies. A little after three, I heard the car pull up. A man's voice coaxed someone out of the car. A girl's voice said, "Is this it?" drowsily. The man shushed her, but in a gentle way. This man was acting as if afraid to break her. Her father.

Dad. Where was he? Worry creased my brow. We had to find him. Or… No… Simon had to find him. He didn't belong here. Not in a place for dangerous kids. Not in a place that I needed.

The nurses introduced themselves to the girl, who was silent. They brought her up to her and Liz's room. She said goodbye to her father and a woman who was most likely her mother. The two obviously loved her. The woman sobbed quietly once she reached the door. The girl was asleep within two minutes, breathing so softly I could only hear it on the top floor when I went upstairs to shower.

Simon was excited about the new girl. He was bored of the house after so long. Tori flirting with him every day, the same schedule every day, the constant worry about our father… It made him stir-crazy. Hopefully this new girl would be pretty enough to keep his attention from the situation. Or maybe she could be worse than Tori and give him a renewed drive to leave; To find our Dad and be willing to leave me where I needed to be.

We fell asleep as we usually did, talking about our Dad, where he could be, how we would find him. I woke up in the middle of the night when the doorbell rang. A man's voice. Groggy from sleep, I couldn't make out the words. He persisted to Mrs. Talbot and soon he was delivering a beloved stuffed toy to the new girl. It made me smile and made me almost want to cry.


	2. Meeting

Hello, Guys. Thanks for my reviewers and for everyone who wants to read more. From here on out, the chapters should get better. If you have any comments on how you feel the story is going, whether you think I'm spot on with how Derek feels or if you think I'm creating an OC, do not hesitate to say so. Just don't be too mean about it :). To Brooke: I actually forgot the last one and was going to look it up later and so I put in French as a filler word so I wouldn't lose my train of thought. Sorry for forgetting to fix that guys. To Hydei : I believe that Derek is a strong individual, but as Chloe says in the book, he's still just sixteen. If any normal sixteen year old had no idea where one of the people he cared about is missing, he'd be upset. Plus he didn't quite cry. He just wanted to. That's just what I think though. To Lululaura: I will put in that from now on, sorry for the confusion. The entire story will be in Derek's POV, but I will put it in so that it helps ease confusion and just in case I don't end up switching POV at any given time. Thank you to all who reviewed. Praise and encouragement and also any thoughts of how I'm doing and pointing out mistakes is really helpful. Any and all comments are welcome. So please…. Read and review.

The books from the Darkest Powers series have been enjoyed responsibly and have not intoxicated me to the point where I believe I own any part in them. So don't sue me.

Derek's point of View

I was preoccupied all morning. I practically forgot we had a new girl today, except for Tori's bitchy mood reflected it. She even snapped at Liz once, which surprised even me. The girl wasn't at lessons today, common practice for the new ones on their first day. It was letting her get used to her surroundings before she had to get used to the crazies, the schedule, and the whole deal.

I heard almost nothing from her all day until I heard Miss Van Dop ask, "Looking for a way out?" You could almost hear the amusement in her voice. Van Dop was my least favorite of the nurses. I can't really place why, but it was the truth.

"N-no. I w-was just looking around." Her stutter pronounced either guilt or nervousness. "Oh, and while I was getting dressed, I noticed I don't have my necklace. I think I might have left it in the hospital, and I want to make sure I get it back. It's kind of special."

_What a girl thing. Worrying about a necklace._

Van Dop said gently, "I'll let your father know, but he'll have to hold it for you while you're here. We don't like our girls wearing jewelry." I'm sure that was mostly because if they were really crazy they could try and harm themselves with it. Or maybe it was to avoid giving the boys the wrong idea. … That's a laughable thought.

I finished with science and was quietly opening my math book, listening to the conversation, bored with the easy pace of my lessons.

"I'm sure you saw the security system at the front door."

"I-I wasn't-" There was the stutter again. Maybe she was a stutterer. Tori would be so smug when she found out. Or maybe she was lying about checking out the house. She seemed nervous.

"Trying to escape. I know. Most of our residents aren't the sort of teenagers who run away from home, unless it's to make a statement." Ah, I don't know about that.

_Simon is leaving as soon as possible. He needs Dad. _

Van Dop continued, "They're bright enough to know that whatever is out there is worse than what's in here. And what's in here isn't so bad. Not Disney World, but not prison either." She continued for a while afterwards, but I turned my attention away, effectively tuning her out.

If this girl was looking for how to get out already, then maybe I could use her to get Simon to leave. Then again, if she was really crazy, I don't want Simon cozying up to her. I would have to get the file on her tonight.

During one of the breaks, Simon and I went to see if we could raid the kitchen. I was already hungry again and so was Simon. I made him eat all of the essential nutritious snacks that he was supposed to as a diabetic. It worked because we ate at the same times, just different amounts. Simon entered the kitchen ahead of me and I stood at the doorway, standing guard.

"Peeling duty already?" I hadn't expected anyone in the kitchen. I hadn't been paying attention to the kitchen at all. I had been listening to Mrs. Talbot talk to Liz. "What'd you do to deserve that?" I heard her twirl around, gasping. "You must be Chloe." I heard a little jump. I would have looked into the kitchen if I hadn't heard Liz tell Mrs. Talbot that Chloe was very nice, though really jumpy. As Liz said that her voice came closer. I stood my guard. I wouldn't let mysterious noises let Simon get caught.

"I-I-" Obviously, the stutter was something every day with her.

"I'm not supposed to be in here. I'm Simon, by the way." I could hear it in his voice that he thought she was cute. Mentally, I hurried him. _Charm her later. I'm hungry now._

Luckily, he either remembered what he was supposed to be doing or he heard my mental plea for food, because I heard him enter the pantry and start rooting around. Mrs. Talbot and Liz finished their conversation, but Mrs. Talbot decided to head away from the kitchen. I took the chance to go into the kitchen and hurry Simon along.

I entered the kitchen and a petite girl with blond hair had her back to me. Her hair had red streaks in it that smelled very recent. The smell stung my nose. She was about an entire foot shorter than me and had a preteen's body. She was maybe fourteen?

"The other one's already open," she whispered to him, obviously calmer than she had been. She pointed to the box that Simon had in his hands. Simon looked at her and his eyes slid back to me.

"Thanks, but he'll want the whole thing. Right, bro?"

She quickly turned, following his gaze. She cried out.

_Jeez, this girl is going to have a heart attack if she keeps up this amount of nerves._ I ignored the little pain that I felt at the yelp, telling myself she was already jumpy and I wasn't that scary. I watched her size me up and knew that I was not coming up on her radar as someone she wanted anywhere near her. I briefly looked at her. Small, with short hair and streaks. She had an innocent face with big baby blues that were wide with nerves. Just Simon's type. Cute and girly-girl.

"I-I-I-" She took a moment to gather herself, swallowing audibly. "I didn't see you there." _Yeah, no kidding. _Instead of replying with a smartass remark, I wisely chose to reach past her and grab my crackers. My stomach was beginning to get persistent. As I pulled back, prize in hand, Simon grabbed my shirt.

"We're still teaching him manners," he said to her. Obviously, he thought my choice to grab the crackers left something to be desired. "Derek, Chloe. Chloe, my brother, Derek."

"Brother?" she asked slowly, looking between us, trying to tie our features together. She would never be able to find anything. Simon was half Korean, half Swedish. He was five- six, had dark blond hair, and his father's Korean features. He had always been popular with girls. I, on the other hand, am tall, almost six-two. I have extremely dark brown hair and I'm built like a football player. I had… issues with normal teenage stuff, like acne and sweat and greasy hair, but for some reason, I had it real bad. Bad enough that I took two showers in a day, wore deodorant under my arms and in a streak down the middle of my back to prevent sweat from appearing, and I had even tried that trick girls use with baby powder that is supposed to make your hair look less greasy. None of it really works, but I don't stop trying. "Yeah," I said, looking at her, simply annoyed by conversation at this point. "Identical twins."

"He's my foster brother," Simon said. God, he liked her. I could just tell. Time to exit the kitchen before it got all mushy and gushy to the point that I wanted to throw up.

_Girls start chasing back after a few of those smiles and I'm not in the mood to try and even pretend that I care whether she does or not._

Simon continued while I was thinking, "So I was about to tell Chloe-"

I interrupted, bored and annoyed, "We done here?" It might be rude, but I already had a headache from Tori and I was hungry.

Simon waved his hand at me, upset that I was being rude to her. _Oh, god. He's going to be mooning over her for a while._ I mentally started bracing myself for the brotherly talks about how she was sooo cute and blah blah blah. He rolled his eyes. He knew how being hungry could make me into a bear. "Sorry," he said to Chloe. "Anyway, I was going to say welcome-"

"Simon?" Tori was calling for Simon loudly as she entered the kitchen. "Aha. I thought I heard you." She said, confirming he was in her by seeing me. She may not like me, but she understood that where I was Simon was usually not far behind. "You and Derek, always raiding the-" She walked up to the pantry, seeing me looking in. There she saw Chloe, who looked freaked out to see her. I wonder what Tori said to her already this morning to give her such a look.

Her head tilted slightly as she saw Chloe, and her hands did a mini-clench. Possessive. Tori was going to make this girl's life hell.

"Tori?" Simon said.

Her voice went all sweet and full of love and hope. _Jesus._ "Yes?"

He put his finger to his lips and went, "Shhh!" Chloe started edging out of the pantry. I backed up enough to let her out and as Tori started to apologize, too loudly, I might add, she walked as quick as she could out of the kitchen.

Simon forgave Tori. His smile melted her heart. He liked flirting too much. No wonder she acted like this.

As he smiled, I leaned past Tori and grabbed my crackers again. I left them in there and made my way down the hall. I heard Simon follow me shortly after. I heard Chloe reenter the kitchen as he reached the media room where I was stealthily eating half of the crackers.

"Hey," he said. "You save me some?"

I wordlessly gave him 4 full crackers. He nibbled on them slowly, thinking hard. "So, Chloe is cute." He ate another cracker before saying, "How old do you think she is?"

"Fourteen, maybe fifteen," I considered.

"Jumpy, isn't she?" He smiled, thinking. Obviously he thought that it was extremely cute. It was kind of annoying to me. If she was jumpy when Simon said, "Hi," she would be unable to ever talk to me. I made adults nervous, let alone her.

"You liked her stutter?" I asked.

"It was different. Cute. She's so nervous and… I guess, girly." He blushed.

I rolled my eyes. Simon liked girls and they liked him back. I just had to ride the storm until he got sick of them or they got sick of him.

"She's here for schizophrenia. Just… be careful. Get to know her before getting to attached, Simon." I had to warn him.

"Well, everyone has some problems," he said, ever the optimist. I gave him a look. "Okay, okay!" he said putting his hands up in an I-surrender way. "I'll make sure she's at least semi-normal before I go too crazy." I grumbled under my breath and snorted. Sure, he'd try, but Simon was a helpless romantic.


	3. Ghosts

Hey guys. I've been updating a lot but I've been on a hotstreak. I apologize in advance for when I suffer writers block. Thank you for all the reviews. So, I have decided on a format. Up here at the top are general comments for all my readers and in the next paragraph will be responses to my reviewers. I do want to respond to you guys, because it really helps knowing you guys are responding. If I do not give you a personal message and you reviewed, don't be upset. If anyone has a comment that is similar to another reviewer or if I'm running out of space (look at that paragraph down there. There is so much down there), I may decide not to respond this time around, but keep reviewing and I will . BTW DO NOT BE AFRAID TO TELL ME IF YOU THINK I'M DOING SOMETHING WRONG (Hydei, this is for you, my dear.) I may not change what I am writing and I may not agree, but I will take it into consideration. I like to hear your feedback. Whether it be praise or disgruntlement. Seeing the little number in my review section rise makes me smile and makes me want to write more and more for my audience, so please don't stop.

Now to my reviewers: SweetDreamzz3116: Thank you for all your praise. It makes me feel all bubbly . Xbloodxredx: I will add that stuff, but not until he figures out he loves her. There will ber some... awkward moments for him before that though. I love the idea of mates and he will def have his wolf feelings, but right now she's almost a stranger. Hydei: Lol, no worries. I like the criticism. PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO REVIEW AGAIN! You did make me stop and think. I asked my sisters who have read the book and I thought about it, but… idk… that's what felt right. You did make me think though, and that is good. Mari: I always envisioned Derek falling in love slowly. He seems to have a hard time opening up and he's rather gruff with her. I already know the point where his idea of her will change and it will be love, but that's something you'll have to find out .

Derek's Point of View

Soon, it was lunch time and Chloe was introduced by Simon to Peter. Peter was okay, an average kid, attached to whatever game system was within reach. He was a good kid. He basically ignored the drama that happened in the house, too young to be dragged into it.

I was so hungry. The casserole was perfect. I dug in as soon as it was on my plate. Tori and Liz were giggling together and Peter and I were in our own world so Simon decided to keep the new girl company. They talked about how often they had moved and shared stories. It wasn't until Tori tried to join in that I realized that she had been noticing Simon's obvious attraction to Chloe. She was livid. She was so jealous that she might have strangled the girl if she could have gotten away with it.

"So where do you live now?" Simon asked.

"I live in a condo here in the city."

"Oh? What school did you go to?"

"A.R. Gurney. It's an art school."

Tori gave a vicious smile. "Art School. Isn't that just _fascinating_." All eyes shifted to Tori. We had seen the super-bitch look more than once. "What did you study there? Ghost photography? Ghost writing?"

Chloe gagged on her food, surprised as hell.

"Oh. Didn't Chloe tell you why she's here?" She was now talking to Simon, showing him that this was for his benefit. She lowered her voice to a whisper as she continued, "She sees dead people."

Everyone had stopped eating, including me. I watched Chloe, waiting to see her reaction to Tori's disgusting amount of bitchiness from jealousy. It made me scowl as I remembered the nurses saying one of the girl's had been listening. I probably could have warned the girl or told Simon to or… well, done anything not to let Tori sit there smiling so damn happily.

"Really? Cool." Peter was such a kid. Taking everything in, and only spitting out happiness.

"It's not like that." Chloe's voice shook and her little face was beet red. "I-I-I-I-" The stutter seemed less from being unable to stop repeating, and more from lack of what to say. _Well, she believes that she sees _something._ I'll find out in the report if she believes its ghosts._

Tori let out a sigh. "There she goes. Liz, slap her back. See if you can restart her."

Chloe somehow blushed even harder. Simon was pissed. "Stop being such a bitch, Tori."

Tori's mouth dropped and she froze. Somehow the stupid little chit didn't see that everyone thought this was bitchy. She didn't see anyone but Chloe being upset. She obviously missed how infatuated Simon was with the girl. Or maybe she does and is just that crazy about him… My stomach quietly growled, and I started eating again. Simon had this under control.

"I didn't mean it that way. Like Peter said, it's kinda cool. If she does see ghosts, maybe she can help Liz with her poltergeist." She was so crazy jealous, that she was dragging everyone's shit out in the open.

"Tori!" Liz shrieked, fork bouncing off the table.

"Here we go," I muttered quietly. Girls were so insane. I'm so glad it was just Simon, Dad, and I. Or… at least it would be, once I got better at control.

Liz cried, Tori apologized. Peter and I ignored them all. Then Mrs. Talbot came in shrieking and it added to the chaos. Rae came in asking if anyone had laundry to add, ignoring the fact that it was a cacophony in the room. Chloe slipped from the room, clearly so, so done with all of it. I followed shortly thereafter. Too much noise and the food was all gone. I chilled in the Media room, waiting for Simon to decide that it was useless to stay in there with the screams of the two girls. I heard Rae come upstairs from the laundry room. Looking at my shirt, I realized that I had gotten some casserole on my clothes. I hurried to get into the laundry room without running into Rae, who avoided me like the plague. I was going down the steps when I heard a door downstairs' knob shake. I rounded the corner and saw Chloe staring down at the knob of the door.

"Locked." She tried once more. I walked over trying to see why she wanted it open so damn badly. She raised her hands off of the knob and up to the sides of her head, kneading tiredly. "The door is locked and I'm going upstairs." Who in the world was she talking to? She said it as if she was convincing someone else that she had tried. Maybe she talked to herself. She was here at the crazy house.

She started to turn around and smacked right into me. She seemed to bounce right off me. She let out a girly little scream. She stumbled back, but I didn't try to catch her. The door was right behind her. The last time I tried to help a girl who was falling, she freaked out on me, acting like I was trying to molest her instead of steadying her to keep her from falling down some bleachers. I put my hands in the pocket as the memory emerged, tired of everyone acting so skittish around me. This girl was no exception.

"Who were you talking to?"

"Myself." Huh.

"Huh." I said, loud.

"Now if you'll excuse me…" I didn't move. I wanted to see if this girl was really a necromancer. I wanted to know if she was crazy or not. If Simon would be safe or not liking her. She tried to move around me, but I got in her way.

"You saw a ghost, didn't you?" I watched her face closely. When I said it, there was a millisecond of surprise that morphed so quickly in to stubborn look, it shocked me. She laughed, slightly unsteadily.

"Hate to break it to you, but there's no such thing as ghosts."Her eyes slid away at the last second, avoiding my eyes. They bounced back to my face quickly, but I had already seen that she, at the very least, believed that she could see them. I slowly looked around the laundry room, looking for anything that might have tricked someone into believing something was there that only the special could see. There were no gas leaks, no old rags hung up, nothing at all except a normal tiny basement with a laundry in it. I turned my eyes back to her. I was trying to simply will the answer out of her. Was she crazy or was she one of us?

"What do you see, Chloe?"

"I-I-I- don't s-s-s-"

Damn it. I scared her.

"Slow down." I was annoyed at myself for scaring her and the annoyance was clear in my voice. "What do they look like? Do they talk to you?" I continued, hoping for an answer.

"You really want to know?" She whispered, voice low, eyes down. Finally, some answers. She looked up, chewing her lip. When she did, my mind wandered for a second, thinking how she did look really cute and no wonder Simon was already infatuated. The teenage boy part of me had taken control for a second, but I was still a strong-minded person. I took control and wondered if I had scared her too much with the whole forcing-her-to-answer act. She lifted herself on her tiptoes, making herself only slightly less far away. I leaned in, waiting for the answer, expectant. _Tell me something real, Chloe. Don't be crazy. Simon can't like a crazy chick._

Chloe took in a deep breath and then she gave a look that was purely evil as she said in a rush, "They wear white sheets with big eye holes. And they say 'Boo!'" She glared at me, angry. All traces of the scared little girl were gone and she was looking like she wanted to provoke me. "Now get out of my way." The change was so dramatic that I was impressed that she even had a strong side. _You don't want to get this one angry, Simon_. The words themselves were genius. At first, I was angry with her for leading me on, but as the words sunk in, I couldn't help but want to laugh. She got me.

_Touch__é__._

I tried to hold down the smile, but soon it forced its way out. I then moved out of the way. She rushed up the stairs and when I could hear that she was out of hearing distance, I laughed. What a surprise. Well, Chloe had her therapy and I always had her file. I would find out the truth here.


	4. Crazy

So far this is the hardest chapter to write. I had a lot of difficulty with it. I wanted to show Simon and Derek's bond as being brothers, but I was worried it would be perceived as weird. So please let me know if it seems like a fail attempt. I will not be offended at all. I promise. Let me know if it sounds as odd as it did to me. I did try to tone it down, but I felt it was all necessary. Thanks for staying with me thus far guys.

Xnatsumix and aStormatMidnight: Thank you very much guys. Praise makes me soooo happy. doarfthXx: yep. He may be… unsociable, but he's still a teenage boy. Hydei: I'm glad to hear it. That's the reason I decided to write this way actually. I had read tons of different fanfics that were like that and I felt… that it ran flat. There will be awkward moments, this is all still the first day soo we gotta wait a little. Don't give up on me in the meantime. It will get pretty hilarious. Kelley Miley: Thank you for all the nice things you said. Like I told Hydei, that was part of my motivation in writing this. Lol This is why I should proofread more. I go over in once or twice, but I just read through and look for whatever sticks out. Lol thanks for telling me. You're right. Thanks for telling me.

BTW I have never nor will I ever own any rights to darkest powers. Though it would be nice. Just saying…

Derek's Point of view

I heard Dr. Gill call in Chloe for her evaluation, mostly because I had been listening for Chloe all day. Their session began mundanely. They talked about how she slept, how she was eating, blah blah blah. Then Dr. Gill asked how she felt about being stuck at the Lyle House.

Chloe did the smartest thing she could do as someone who wanted out and said that her dad and the woman I had mistaken as her mom (who was actually her aunt) had done the 'right thing' by bringing her here. She made sure to add her dedication to getting better. Half the kids that came in here were calm like that and the other half were in denial or just plain pissed off that they were sent her.

"Now Chloe, have you ever heard of Schizophrenia?"

There was a distinct pause before I heard, "Sch-Schizophrenia?"

Dr. Gill continued on. She firmly believed in barreling through the bad news. "Yes. Have you heard of it?"

There was a ten second pause. Dr. Gill waited patiently for Chloe to say something.

"Chloe?"

"Y-you think I'm schizo?" Well. Obviously she hadn't considered that as an option. I wasn't sure if that made her crazy or not.

Dr. Gill answered, annoyed at the negative connotation with in her words. Dr. Gill was very PC and did not enjoy the negative views society had on most mental illnesses. "We don't use that word, Chloe. In fact, we prefer not to use labels at all." Her voice softened. "But a diagnosis is a necessary part of the process. A patient must know her condition, understand and accept it before we can begin treatment."

The discussion turned to medications and such shortly thereafter. I was pretty absent for all of that. Then Dr. Gill said, "This leads us to our final topic for today. Privacy. As I'm sure you've guessed, all the residents here are coping with mental issues. But that is all anyone needs to know. We will not share details of your condition, your symptoms with anyone here. If anyone pressures you for details, you are to come to us right away." They gave this speech to everyone. Just mumble okay and your home free for the day.

"They already know." Her mumble was quiet, but shocked me. What a… dumbass. Either she was stupid or she was a narc. God. After a moment, she was quickly amending, "N-not about the schizophrenia. Just… someone knew about me seeing things." Another pause. "Ghosts. Which I never said. To anyone."

"Who was it?"

"I-I'd rather not say. It was no big deal." Not a narc. Just stupid. Who tells on someone when that person will find out you told? There is no way she can think the nurses will let it go. I had better steer clear of this girl. I stopped listening to the conversation, bored of listening to this girl.

After our classes, Simon and I made plans to play some soccer. One of the worst things about Lyle house was being cooped up. I constantly wanted to run, lift heavy things, and work my muscles. The small house and the small yard were little help, but whenever I could, I was slipping out there, trying to just… move. He went to go grab a hat he left in the media room and I went to grab a glass of water.

After, I finished I went to find him. He could get distracted easily, especially now that there was a new interest in the house.

"But a word of advice? Don't let them catch you holing up in here. It's like going to your room during the day. You'll get a lecture on moping around." Simon's voice drifted lazily through the hallway. I was walking into a conversation.

"I'm not-"

"Their word's, not mine." Ah. He was talking to Chloe. It was good that I had decided to come retrieve him. He could flirt all day if I let him." I'm just warning you. You can get away with turning on the TV and pretending you're watching it, but they'll be happier if you're up and about, hanging with us." Very, very true. A guy could go mad from being unable to be alone with his thoughts, but that's what they thought was healthy. "We're not such a bad bunch. Not too crazy." Simon was a nice guy. Like the kind of a nice guy that gets capitalized letters. Like A Nice Guy. But that's what made him my best friend. No matter how grouchy I was, he would see the bright side. I entered the door, proud that he was my brother.

"Hey, bro. Don't worry. I didn't forget you."

Uh huh. Right….

"Just talking to Chloe." He gestured at her. I looked in, which would please my brother. Pretend I care about his current love and he was one happy camper. As I looked at Chloe, she got a look that was mildly freaked out on her face. What the hell?

"We're heading out back. Kick around the ball for our break. You're welcome to join us." He expected her to follow as he walked out the door. That's what he was used to with girls. "I'll go get Talbot to disarm the door.

I stayed there. Why wasn't she following him? Did she not like him? Maybe she was too freaked out from her first day… It was odd behavior. Usually girls that liked Simon were all over him for hanging.

Was she crazy? Or was she one of us? This day was starting to seem rather long. When I had the file, I should be able to find out. The file plus some internet sleuthing on people who died in the area would be very forthcoming, if time-consuming.

"Take a picture. It'll last longer."

This girl was downright hostile to me now. I obviously scared her earlier. I stood my ground and examined her. What if she was one of us? Maybe I wouldn't feel quite so weird being here. Another person got thrown in the nuthouse because of a power. Simon didn't count. They just didn't want to separate us so that it was easier to give us back to our father if he showed up for us.

… _When. When he shows up for us._

Right. When. After my examination was complete and I felt no closer to this girl than I had a second ago, I simply walked away. Simon was enough. Dad was enough. I wasn't alone. I didn't need to prove that I wasn't the only one who was classified nuts.

I met Simon outside. He was kicking the ball back and forth, dribbling furiously. I smiled as I came up behind him and hooked my foot inside of his and kicked the ball away. Simon glanced back and laughed as he started to rush to get the ball before I did. We played a quick, but furious game. I sooo didn't want to talk about his love interest and I felt like I was suffocating when I stood still. I drove the game's pace, but Simon matched it, just as eager to be outside, on the move. Simon and I were used to being able to pick up and leave at anytime. We had to relief the itch that being cooped up in the tiny, little dramatic house gave us.

As my muscles warmed and stretched, I began to overwhelm Simon to the point where, ten minutes before our break was over, he had to call a break. His breathing was labored and he had to put his hands on his knees, leaning over.

"Wow." He managed to speak after a full minute of breathing. "You really-" Gulp of air. "needed to get-" Gulp of air. "out some steam-" Gulp of air. "today didn't you?"

Deciding that was rhetorical, I sat down on the grass, slamming my body down, pretty exhausted. Simon and I had been neck and neck for a long time.

Simon sat next to me, and we rolled on to our backs. The action brought back a memory from when we were 10. We were in the middle of moving and the drive was extremely long. Both of us had sat in the car, bored for hours, despite Dad's best attempts to get us to play I spy and the yellow car game. When we reached the halfway point, Dad decided to stop at a little diner in Hicksville. Simon and I decided to go on a walk to stretch our legs before eating.

At first our legs were cramped up from disuse. There was a small wood next to the diner that we walked through. After we were walking normally, one of us, I don't remember which one, pushed the other and soon we were sprinting through the forest, Simon chasing after me, our laughter ringing through the trees. When we reached the end, there was a huge hill. Like the kid of hill every kid dreams of. It was steep and smooth the whole way down. I threw myself down and was spinning down the hill and I could hear Simon follow after me. At the end of it, we sat there breathless just staring at the sky. Dad came and rounded us up after a few minutes and as we walked back, just Simon, Dad, and I. I remember being so happy, just with the two people I was the happiest with.

"Hey." Simon said as we lay on the Lyle lawn. "You remember that time with the big hill?"

"Yep." We sat, there, reminiscing.

After a moment, I said, "So how's it going with Chloe?"

He let out a breath. You hear his smile in it. "She's so cute."

"You surprised she didn't come out here?"

He considered it for a moment, then said, "Well, a little."

"I don't think it's you. She seems… afraid of me."

"What?" He sat up, looking at me. "Why? What makes you think that?"

"Well… I kind of cornered her in the basement. Not on purpose, but she was talking to someone. There was no one down there besides me. She was trying to open the door. I asked her who she saw. What she saw. It scares me that you're so into her and she could be just a crazy."

Simon looked thoughtfully at the house. "How do we find out?" Good. I half thought that he would freak out, say he was a big kid now or whatever. He sometimes told me I worry too much.

"I'll sneak down and read her file tonight. Just… hope that something in there will help us know."

"Imagine if she was one of us. A necromancer. One who didn't know what she was." He smiled. "She's sweet and nice and I'd be able to tell her everything. About me, about you."

"Not about me." No way. Scared little thing like that would NEVER talk to me again, even if Simon told her I was harmless. And if he did say that, it would be a lie.

"Why?"

"Just… I don't want other people knowing okay?" In the supernatural world, I was other. I was second class. Different. Dangerous. No one else had to know that I was a werewolf. I even ignored that fact most of the time.

Simon was just looking at me. "Derek-"

"Boys, it's time for class." Mrs. Talbot was standing in the doorway. We both got up and ran to class. The brotherly bond time was over.


	5. Madhouse

So, I felt like I was updating too fast, like I wasn't giving people enough time to check back and want more. So I gave myself a deadline with how many comments it would take before I would post again. I need some feedback or it feels weird. Below, we have two very different chapters that are two short in my opinion to just put by themselves. So even though they are very different, go with it :). As always read and review. The faster I receive comments, the faster I update. I'm writing the next chapter right now and it will be done by tonight sooo… its up to you when you want it *evil smile*Muahahhaha!

Thank you to all my new commenters for joining. DoarfthXx: Actually, your comment gave me great idea. I'm sure you can guess it, but itll help shape the story and add a little detail. Thanks for pointing it out and being one of my muses. Murry-2012: Thanks. I'm glad you liked the bonding. I wanted you to glimpse into their past alittle and see the kind of strong relationship they must have. Lululaura: I agree completely. There was something weird about it, but I still liked it enough to keep tbh. Lol. Supernatural: I'm so sorry but no skipsies. I'm as excited as you are, buuuut…. He still has to steal the file and see what's inside. And tell Simon! The next chapter will be a doozy. And shortly after next chapter is the one you're waiting for, so have patience, my dear. All in good time. Hydei: I would hope he could, too. He IS a genetically engineered werewolf :)

Now, it may be on Christmas wish (That's right Santa. I'm talking to you), but I do not (Yet) own anything in relation to darkest powers. Or any other book for that matter. Darn.

Derek's Point of View

Mrs. Wang was, for no apparent reason, very, very pissed off. She went around from student to student, but she was vicious in her problem checking, Nazi-like in her grammar checking, and borderline abusive in her observations. She told me that someone as advanced as I was shouldn't need help on any problem. And the reason she said that was because she didn't know the answer to my question. When she finally released me, I decided to do some studying in the dining room. I was determined to show her that I was smarter than her. How dare she say shit like that?

I'm not sure how long I was in the dining room for, before I heard the scream. It echoed through my brain and made me clap my hands over my ears. I was concentrating too hard on a question and my hearing had been at max power. Ow, to say the very least.

I was ready for the aftermath when it came a few seconds later though. "Elizabeth Delaney! Get back here!" Mrs. Wang was yelling as loud as she could after her, fury saturating her words.

I was at the last minute of a twenty minute problem so I decided to finish it before seeing what the hell had happened.

I heard Liz run to the top floor and as she reached the stairs I heard Tori ask, "Enjoying the show?"

"I have had it! I expect some behavioral problems tutoring in a place like this, but that girl needs professional help." I didn't need my super hearing to hear that.

"Ms. Wang, please. Not in front of-"

"She threw a pencil at me. Whipped it. Like a weapon." Finished with my problem, I got up, stretching. "Another half inch and she'd have taken my eye out. She broke the skin. Blood. From a pencil! All because I dared to suggest that a tenth grade student should be able to understand basic algebra ."

Well, I, at least, knew that she hadn't quite phrased it that way. Looking back, I believe I heard, "Elizabeth, you are in tenth grade. In tenth grade, most students would understand this. Only remedial students would not, Elizabeth. Are you remedial? Would you like me to treat you like you are remedial?"

Still, Liz had thrown the pencil. She might talk a lot and seem like a normal bubbly girl, but underneath she was the girl who threw shit when she got mad. Throwing shit was not normal. This is why Simon had to be careful of Chloe. Sure, she could seem like a scared-y-cat, but look how fast she one-eightied in the basement. Then she would punch him or kick him in the nuts or something psycho if he said the wrong thing.

I exited the dining room as Ms. Wang said, "Where's the director's number? I'm quitting. That girl is a menace…" I saw Chloe standing in the kitchen door, staring wide-eyed down the hall where Ms. Wang's voice came from. She turned as I walked to the door. I stared down at her. Here is the maybe-crazy chick in question. She looked so freaked out. I kind of wanted to say something to lessen the look, but what do you say? Do I pat her on the head and say, "Well, maybe you're not nuts like her. Maybe you'll end up being normal and you'll just have to live with people who are nuts like her," and hope it works? So, said the only thing that came to mind.

"Welcome to the madhouse." I edged around her and went to grab a snack.

Everyone went their separate ways until dinner, and the silence was welcome. Because the nurses were in deep conversation in the nurses' room, I decided to ignore whatever the hell they were talking about and just sit and think for the first time in a while. Every so often, I liked to do that, but here such time was so little that I needed it for exercise or it wasn't enough to really do anything with.

So, I went up in Simon's and my room and lay on my bed. My mind swirled, a cornucopia of thoughts and feelings. Dad, and the worry of where he was, was at the top of the list. He should have contacted us by now. He was a spellcaster. He was smart and resourceful. He would check friends first, then the government. It had been too long with him gone. Now the intense worry set in.

It was my fault he was missing. If the newspaper hadn't typed the article about what I had done in the paper, we wouldn't have been found. I had lost control and I had crippled a kid. Dr. Gill doesn't want to upset me, but I make her give me updates. Every time I hear the words, the ones that always mean that he still can't move his lower body, I descend into… Guilt. Such an amount that it should have another name. A bigger, more menacing name.

If only I hadn't lost it. If only I could have stopped myself from using the fullest of my strength. Then one kid would be able to have a normal life. Dad would be safe and Simon would be safe and all of us would be together. We wouldn't be in the Lyle house. Simon would have been able to stay in a town for just a little longer. It upset him so much every time we had to move. I hated when I was the cause and this time was no exception.

That was why it was so important for Simon to escape, to find Dad. He just had to realize how important it was. They could be safe and happy and when I got better, I could join them. But I had to get better first. I couldn't do something so monstrous again. I couldn't let the animal side of me take over like that.

My wolf. I liked to ignore it, but if I thought about it, I could feel it, like an alter ego in my brain. It and I agreed on some things, but others I had to fight against it. We both agreed that we protect Dad and Simon with everything we have. We agreed about not letting people in for the most part. Too emotionally investing. The wolf and I disagreed about who was a threat or not and how to deal with them. The wolf and I definitely disagreed on girls. I thought they were troublesome, loud, annoying, ect. He… well, let's just say when he thought of Chloe down in the basement, asking if she had seen ghosts was not on his agenda. There was part of me who was a normal teenage boy who thought girls were attractive, but the wolf took things way further. The fact that he wanted to find his mate was not helpful.

In the least.

He was the part of me that I was trying to overcome through therapy. Dr. Gill and I had practiced breathing exercises, mental preparation, examples and how I would react. Of course, Dr. Gill had no idea that the wolf was responsible for the 'outburst' as she put it. She believed that I could overcome it, but I wasn't always so sure.

What if the wolf would always win during high stress situations? What if I got mad and hurt someone? What if it was Simon?

My thoughts shifted, my entire self shying away from such thought. No more self pity. I instead thought of the plan for tonight. As soon as I could hear Talbot asleep, I'd grab the file. I'd have to use all of my senses since the nurses would be stressed and freaked out from the stuff with Liz. It would be dangerous, but already this day seemed too long, waiting and examining Chloe for every discrepancy in her actions and words. It made me crazy as hell. I just wanted to know one way or the other.

That thought made my rant of thoughts stop. Why? Why did I want to know so badly? Part of it was for Simon, but hell, if she was crazy and he was still interested, I'd be disgruntled, but I couldn't say no. Simon's being happy, that was what mattered. So why? So Simon and I weren't alone? We weren't. Not really. Well, kind of. Sometimes I wished there was someone other than them to talk to. Maybe another werewolf to ask questions to, ask what was normal, ask what to expect.

Dad tried to tell me what would happen, but what if there were things he couldn't know, not unless he was a werewolf? What if…?

No… no more thinking about that. Chloe. Plan. I'll find out. I'll-

Mrs. Talbot called us down to dinner. Leaving my questions unanswered and my thoughts interrupted. I went down the stairs, pushing my reverie aside, letting my stomach take over. God, I was hungry. The smell of food was delicious. I let it lure me into the dining room, forgetting my troubles.


	6. Gutter

This is, so far, my favorite chapter. I hope you will enjoy it, too. I tried really hard to keep it very… teen friendly. Let me know if you think I did a good job working with my rating, or if you think I can get a little raunchier or if you want me to be more… catholic school nun with my euphemisms. And I can't post everyday if you guys don't give feedback. I really think that I am going in the wrong direction or that I'll miss an important detail. So it's not being mean by not posting without reviews, but necessity. So please review.

Nocturnal and Kelly Miley: Both of you made me feel guilty for not updating and I had to hold back from instantly updating even though I wasn't even done when nocturnal posted. Tsk tsk, darlings. I need my reviews in order to get a feel from my audience. But it did make me hurry and finish so it would be available so you did get the point across lol. Kelly Miley: Thank you. I always wondered why too, but it made sense with the direction of the early chapters so… lol. Meridian Capulet: Aw, thanks. I'll let you know if he puts it under the tree. Don't worry. I think it's only two more chapters until we reach that point so only a TINY bit longer. doarfthXx: I'm glad you enjoyed my interpretation. It's difficult in some instances to string together every that is in Derek. His strong bond with his family and her avoidance of others, his guilt, his wolf, the fact that under it all he is still a teenage boy. Jesus, it makes me feel like my life is simple lol. Thank you for your muse-dom. Hydei: No, I never read Shiver. I actually am not sure what you are saying you would like here, but if you are asking for a stronger wolf presence, it will come but he's fighting it so hard right now that it's not really anywhere near the surface. You can PM or review and tell me what you were trying to tell me. You probably explained it perfectly, but I just can't understand what you meant by one track mind?

PLEASE REVIEW THIS ONE AND LET ME KNOW HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT EVERYTHING, ESP THE AMOUNT OF INUENDO THAT DEREK HAS. VITALLY IMPORTANT TO FUTURE CHAPTERS. IF YOU DON"T FEEL COMFORTABLE REVIEWING PM ME BECAUSE THE SHOW CAN'T GO ON IF I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU FEEL. :)

BTW Because I do not own any rights or privileges for Darkest Powers, I asked it to be my valentine. It said no, but gave me some conversational hearts, so we're still cool with each other.

Derek's Point of View

At eleven o' three, Mrs. Talbot was snoring. At eleven fifteen, I was downstairs, silent in the still house. At the door to Dr. Gill's office, I stopped. I listened to Dr. Gill's snores, letting the rhythm settle into my head and I used the library card Simon had found in his bag earlier to pop the lock at the crescendo of the snore. I slipped into the room and shut it at the height of the next. I looked around the stark, but comfortable room that I spent so much time in. Behind Dr. Gill's desk were two filing cabinets, one to the left and one to the right. My file was in the one to the left. So that was either all patient's files or just boy's files. I checked the right one, curious of what was in there. All of the papers for the house were neatly put away in each folder, labeled cleanly.

My night vision helped me to see each heading. Nothing useful or interesting in the slightest. Not unless I was fascinated by tax returns and house insurance. I closed the drawer quietly and turned my attention the right. I opened the top drawer. All of the names of kids who had ever been here were in this cabinet, but only the ones with the last names beginning with A-L were in here. I went to the next drawer down. My folder was right next to Chloe's.

Of course. I had seen Dr. Gill put mine away in this drawer before. Mentally, I hit myself in the forehead. I reached into the drawer and pulled out Chloe's file. It was so… good to finally have it before me. I sat in Dr. Gill's plush seat and laid the file on her desk. I opened it and squinted in the darkness at the pages.

Chloe Saunders. Born August 17th, 1995. Weight, Height, Ethnicity. Blah, blah, blah. School: A. R. Gurney. Well, well.

I skipped to the next section. It pertained to why she came here. On last Friday, "Chloe Saunders was heard screaming in the hallway, running from an unseen force by students and faculty. She ran from the hallway to the stairs and ran up the stairs. She entered an unused room and ran towards the window. The vice principal and two male teachers, believing she was trying to commit suicide, tried to coax her from the window and restrained her as soon as her attention veered away. She began to fight, violently, harming one of the teachers and biting her tongue to the point of blood in the process.

"Upon waking at the hospital, Chloe told doctors that she had been chased by a custodian. He had walked through walls, called her name, adamant on her paying attention to him. He had changed his appearance when she had first begun to walk away from him. Her story remained consistent and was deemed sincere by the doctors."

Well, damn. It sure sounded like it could go either way, but something told me deep inside that she wasn't crazy. Or maybe she was, but I believed she was a necromancer. Necromancer's could go crazy from the things they saw. They ran from them and sometimes got injured by accident or they jumped. My father had told of the many stories and most ended in insanity or death or the combination. The story paralleled everything he said so completely. But she could be schizo.

I smiled as I imagined her fighting and was surprised at her hurting anyone. Especially when two grown men held her down.

I kept reading and as a funny little irony the next line read, "Diagnosis: Undifferentiated Schizophrenia."

"Background: Chloe's mother died when Chloe was six. Her father works overseas and Chloe has been primarily raised by live-in nannies." Well, jeez. How was I supposed to not feel bad? At least Simon and I had Dad. He was a constant in our lives. I, at least, have no mom to miss and had always had him.

The idea of her growing up alone brought up a disturbing memory in my head. I was little. Real little. I wanted to play with one of the other boys, so I grabbed a ball and asked him to play while the other two weren't paying attention. One of the others saw and pushed me and said… something time has erased …. and they all walked away, laughing. I wasn't one of them. They didn't want me. I sat in the dirt of our little playyard and just watched them leave me and the loneliness burned my tiny fragile heart.

The need to shake away the memory, and the pain associated, was so strong that I gave a shiver. Then I heard something at the edge of my hearing. Liz and Chloe's voices, whispering at the other end of the house, low enough that I could only hear bits and pieces. I closed the file, disturbed by the memory deeply. I concentrated on the next part of the plan.

I heard the sound of footsteps scurrying across a room and a bed squeaked. What the hell were those two doing up there? My boy brain started to think of some ideas. Some very distracting ideas. My rational one shushed him and decided that we had better get upstairs before Mrs. Talbot wakes up. I got up from the chair and the bed squeaked once more as someone moved. The boy brain and the wolf teamed up and thought some… bad thoughts. Bad-thoughts-that-every-guy-dreams-of thoughts. Two-girls-In-one-bed thoughts. Some reallocation of blood to a lower part of me made me hurry and put the folder back in place. Rational brain, where the hell were you?

I exited the room and was going up the stairs (ignoring a very naughty wolf voice) when I heard clattering. I listened closer while I walked, stalking toward my room as quiet as I could. It sounded as if they were moving everything in the room at once. One person playing in the closet and once messing with bottles of some sort. Now every part of my brain said, in chorus, "What the hell?" Not even boy brain could keep up being dirty minded. Then several plastic sounding…thingies hit a wall and shattered. I mentally said, "Fuck it," and bolted down the hallway as quietly as I could. As I reached the doorway, something large and glass fell and shattered. The noise was immense. I closed the door and slipped into bed. Simon had jumped sitting up when the large thing shattered. It probably woke up everyone.

I heard Liz cry out "No!" just as two people- sounding objects hit the floor. Simon and I stared at each other, eyes wide. The house was quiet for a full ten seconds.

Then Simon asked, "What the hell happened?"

I looked at him and shrugged my shoulders. I needed him to stop talking so I could hear…

"Did you get to look for the file?"

I glared at him, commanding him to shut the hell up.

Liz was pleading, "No. Please no. I didn't mean it."

Mrs. Talbot said soothingly, "It's okay, hon. We're going to get you help."

Soon Liz was sedated and the ambulance came for her. Chloe was drugged and went to sleep on the couch. Exhausted and cranky, I fell asleep listening to her gentle breathing overlaid by the closer sounds of Simon's.


	7. Expectant

Hello, my fellow darklings. One more till the one I know that I, at the very least am super excited for. I'm in the middle of writing it right now and I'm so excited. So I didn't get very clear responses on whether it was good on the level I made it. So pm me if you have an opinion or review it. Cause I kinda need to know how dirty you want it. HOW DIRTY DO YOU WANT IT PEOPLE? So read this and get ready for the next. As always, review. You have to earn the next one, Muahaha. So the more you review, the faster it will be posted.

Murray-2012: That's actually my birthday with a diff. year. Lol I was wondering if anyone else had it lol. Hydei: Mmmm I dunno. His wolf is just how I imagine it. It might be more… wolfy later on, but for now, I guess he interpretes it's feeling in ahuman-esque way. Animeteen: I'm glad you thought it was funnier in that way. Unless there is an overwhelming amount of people who want more, I probably will keep it about this level, at least until I reach the chapters in the last book ( I do plan on finishing the series with this.)and thanks for joining my reviewers. Alwaysreading25: I'm glad you like this. I think everyone reading this is team Derek so you're in good company lol. Thanks for joining my reviewers. Lalala: Well, I could go raunchier, but is it what you want?

I don't own it, Kelley does, blah blah blah, I'm going to go write the rest of the next chapter. :)

Derek's Point of View

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

During breakfast, I snuck into the Media room, ready to find out for sure. I opened the search site and I typed in A. R. Gurney custodian accident death. Soon, I had found my answer. I made my way back to the dining room and sat opposite Simon and Peter. Simon's eyes were bright with interest. I hadn't yet told him anything, too busy listening to things he couldn't hear last night before he fell asleep and this morning I just told him to have patience. Peter didn't look up from his game and soon I had gone through three bowls of cereal. Then it was time for class.

Lessons were a quiet affair. Ms. Wang was not in a bad mood. She was more docile and a better teacher than she had been in a while. Chloe was agitated, but everyone understood and ignored it. She kept looking at the door. When Rae walked in, she breathed a sigh of relief, but was still on edge.

When break came, my stomach was yelling at me. As we shuffled out the dining room door, Simon jogged next to Chloe, ever the white knight.

"Hey, you okay? You seem quiet this morning."

"I'm always quiet," She gave a small smile.

"Yeah, but after last night you have an excuse. Probably didn't get much sleep, huh?" His eyes were gentle on her, so soft that it made me want to stop following, except they were going to the kitchen. It was kind of gross watching you brother hit on girls, especially when he had the look that said, "I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU!" Ick.

Chloe shrugged, the much less obscene part of this twosome. As Simon slowly reached for the kitchen door, I reached over Chloe's head and grabbed it, tired of the slow pace. My stomach rumbled in an agreement. Chloe, in an astonishing feat of calm, did not jump. She merely glanced back at me, eyes cool, and said, "Good morning."

Something was different. She was different. What the hell had happened last night? I was so determined to find out that I must have been staring because she said in a bitchy tone, "What?"

Well. Well, well, well. She could snap all she wanted, but that wouldn't help. I went to reach for an apple and she stumbled back. Hey, look. Scaredy Chloe was back. It was almost like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Scaredy Chloe and Angry Chloe. The sting of rejection and annoyance barely stung in the wake of my surprise. I almost felt bad. I decided to go for the nice guy route. Well, the nicest route I could imagine.

"So, what happened last night?" I grabbed two apples in my hand, one for Simon and one for me. He never ate quite right if I didn't force him to.

"Hap-p-p-"

Oh, god. I really had to try and be more delicate with these things. We would never make any progress in any conversation if she got all nervous every time I asked a question. "Slow down." I said, remembering what the teachers had told a kid in my 3rd grade class about his stutter. It had helped that kid.

She blushed and I wondered what was wrong until I saw the pissed expression on her face. What the hell did I do now? And did this chick have any expressions besides terrified and pissed off? I scowled back, annoyed.

Then I noticed Simon step out of the pantry, granola bars as his snack of choice. Son of a- Jesus, if I wasn't on top of him about this shit, he'd be so unhealthy.

"You should have an apple. That's not-"

Simon gave me a look that plainly said, "Shut the hell up." Well, I didn't want her knowing certain things either so who was I to grumble? So, now I have to make sure not to say anything that would tip her off. Great.

He tossed me a granola bar and I caught it easily. He held the box out to Chloe and she took two. "Thanks," she said, turning away toward the door.

Simon leaned back, and said , "Might help if you talk about it." He was unwrapping his granola bar, ignoring my dirty look, and trying to seem casual at the same time. I ate my apple and looked at Chloe, ready to hear what had a moment, my annoyance grew.

"Well?" I moved my arm in a circle, telling her to hurry it up.

"Rae's waiting for me."

Of all the stupid-

She was so infuriating and-

GAHHHH!

I took a breath and calmed myself as Simon reached his hand out to stop her. I gave a small shake of my head and he saw. He frowned and then pulled his arm back. He gave a small, sad nod to Chloe, like a kid deprived of his favorite toy, sad to see her leave. He focused way too much on peeling the rest of the wrapping from the bar. Chloe walked through the swinging door and as soon as it began to shut Simon turned on me. "Something happened."

His eyes said, "Spit it out. All of it. NOW."

I said, "Yeah." A thought a moment and said, "We should really try and get her to tell us what happened. None of it made sense last night." I kept my focus on the explosions, not the earlier part of the night.

"I don't know. We shouldn't-"

"Chloe?" Mrs. Talbot called Chloe from the hallway. We both stopped, sure we were caught red-handed with illicit snacks.

She walked further into the hall and stopped outside the door. Don't check the kitchen. Don't check the kitchen. "Is Peter around?"

"Uh, in class I think." Well, look who had been listening in. I'd be sure to check she was gone next time. This girl was dangerous in many ways. And she was one of us! She didn't know that, but still. I looked at Simon. He didn't know that either. I had to find a time to tell him. Obviously, not at this exact second.

"Could you tell him I need to see him in the living room? I have surprise for him."

Chloe walked away and Mrs. Talbot walked into the living room.

Simon grabbed my shirt collar and tugged me into the pantry. We shut the door and there was hardly space for us.

"Okay, I have been very patient. What in the world did you find last night? What happened last night? You ran into the room like a crazy man before the big crash." He leaned against the wall, expectant. He was trying not to seem too eager about Chloe. It was a little sad how little that worked.

I smiled lightly as I said, "Well, I could hear a bunch of breaking objects before the biggest crash. It sounded like they were throwing shit. It was the weirdest thing." I purposefully avoided the Chloe thing, just to irritate him. I was a little mad he had ignored the very healthy apple that he SHOULD have eaten. It felt very immature, but I thought, "So take that," as I saw him realize I had ignored that part.

"Derek…" He said, at the end of his patience. It was kind of fun to see Simon so worked up. The fact that it was over a girl he hardly knew kind of killed the funny part, but still.

I gave a soft laugh. "She's a necromancer, Simon."

He stood shock still. "No way."

He had expected her to be crazy? This was news, though whether it was good or bad, I couldn't decide. Surprising was my final thought on the matter. "I'm 99 percent sure," I said. I tried not to say one hundred. It could potentially be a coincidence. An oddly specific one, to be sure, but never say never and all that jazz.

He gave a smile that reminded me of a kid's face on Christmas. "Do you think she knows?"

"I don't think so." I gave a quick listen through the house. Mrs. Talbot was rounding up everyone. "We have to go. Mrs. Talbot is rounding everyone up for some reason."

He opened his mouth to say something, but as he did, Tori called his name down the hall. We walked out of the pantry, not another word out of either of us.


	8. Monster

I'm so drained. This one took so much out of me. I'm probably going to take a small break, but an update should be ready by Monday. I'm just very tired. I worked really hard on this one so let me know if you like it. It is a bit angsty in parts, but stick with it. We will get past it. Thanks for reading guys.

Always, Doar, and murray: I'm glad you love Derek so much. He's going to have some angst so don't start hating him. He'll be okay soon. Kelley Miley: Actually, I disagree. This makes him relatively less horny than most men. Men think about sex every three minutes without fail. This is scientifically proven. I simply give him a moment every so often where he's a normal boy. He has three sides. His intelligent, normal, gruff self, his teenage boy that gets distracted by pretty girls self, and his inner wolf self. His intelligent is in charge almost all the time, but his boy self would be mostly responsible for him falling for chloe. Intelligent Derek would never fall for a girl his brother likes. But wolf Derek and teenage Derek can and do. If you don't believe me about guy thinking about sex, loosen a bra strap and wear a tank top. When your bra strap starts to fall down your arm, they will not be able to avoid staring at it. It is one of those moments where you can see them think something sexual.

Dereks Point of view

Peter had left this morning, deemed fit for the world. I'd miss the little guy. He was a nice kid when he decided to poke his head up into the world. And, well, he was one more guy in the house full of women. Now, I was surrounded by the dramatic little things and then Simon, who was perfectly comfortable in their world.

_I. Am. Screwed. Royally._

I finished my math and went to go to the media room to wait for Simon. From the hallway, I could hear a furious amount of clicking. I peeked in. Chloe was on the computer. She had her back to me and I was about to leave, thinking she was writing an email or something personal. Then I saw the picture I had seen this morning of the dead custodian. She had leaned closer to the monitor, eyes wide. She let out a surprised breath.

All thoughts of privacy went out the window. She WAS a necromancer. Hell, yes.

"Is that who you saw?" She spun around in the chair. I had lowered my head to monitor level and that had put our heads way too close for comfort. I pointed to the headline. "A.R. Gurney. That's your school. You saw that guy, didn't you?" I was so excited for her. She wasn't crazy. It may not be a good thing to be gifted like we were, but it was better than being schizo.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Really? I mean, really? I wanted to hit my head to the desk repeatedly. If she didn't think she was after seeing the damn picture, she belonged here. Or maybe she didn't trust me. She didn't really like me, so that could definitely be it. I gave her a look that said, "Don't play with me."

She quickly clicked the browser off. "I was doing schoolwork. For when I go back. A project."

Jesus. I want to play poker with this girl. She is the worst liar ever. I had to bite back the snicker.

"On what? 'People who died at my school?' You know, I always heard art schools were weird…."

"Weird?" That one word was full of anger and made me quickly change the subject. She had to admit it. She knew it. She had to admit it to herself and then to Simon.

"You want something to research?" I leaned over and took the mouse. Her tiny face made a little disgusted look. Damn. The deodorant wasn't working again. I glared at her, angry. Why? I don't know. It's not like I cared what she thought. I closed my elbows all the same and entered the search. I put in the one word that I knew was bopping around Simon's head. "Necromancer."

"Try that. Maybe you'll learn something." I turned and walked from the room. Done and Done.

Simon and I just did our usual schedule for the rest of the day, hanging, playing some ball. I'd tell him everything that night. There just wasn't enough time where we could be sure no one would call us away or come within hearing distance. So I decided to help him out. I was going to make sure Chloe knew what she was, so they could be free to frolic like puppies.

At around seven, I saw Chloe quietly slip into the basement. I walked down the stairs and saw her peering at the door again. I walked up behind her, looking at the door. Why the hell did some ghost want her opening it so badly?

All of a sudden, Chloe jumped around, eyes wide and ready for the boogeyman. She actually seemed a little relieved it was just me.

"You always this jumpy?"

"Wh-where did you come from?"

From behind the locked door. Cue ghostly moaning. "Upstairs.

She tried to fluff me off, make me go away. "I'm waiting for some-" She paused, looking up. "It's you, isn't it? You had Simon send-"

"Simon didn't send anything." Okay, okay. Not my brightest idea ever. Sending a note from Simon was kind of a tricky bastard move. This would piss her off even more. But here she was. "I knew you wouldn't come for me." The wolf growled at those words. It thought that… well, I'll use the word girls… it thought that girls should come to us anytime we want. We were stronger than any other guy. That thought made rational brain laugh. I checked my watch. "But Simon? For Simon, you're early. So, did you look it up?"

"You mean that word?" She had a questioning look on her face. "Nec-" She pursed her lips. My eyes flickered on them, distracted by boy brain for a second. "Necromancer?" She tried the pronunciation. "Is that how you say it?" Not wanting boy brain to get too excited by the adorable- er… just the look. Not wanting boy brain to be too excited by the look on her face or any more lip movement, I waved my hand flippantly, proud of myself for acting like I was not noticing anything about her. I leaned against the wall, trying to appear casual. The wolf was very present all of a sudden. He wanted me to grab her. Um… hell no. I kept my hands down.

"Did you look it up?" I asked, trying to distract all of my brains.

"I did. And, well, I don't know quite what to say."

I put my hands on my jeans, trying to keep the wolf occupied. The rest of me was intent on her words. "Okay. So, you searched for it and …"

"It wasn't what I expected." Okay, come on. Spit out a real answer here. I don't have all day.

I tried to be patient and wait for her to go on, but after a full minute of silence, patience was gone. "So…"

"Well, I have to admit..." She took a deep breath and said, "I'm not really into computer games."

HUH? What the hell did that even mean? I narrowed my eyes and gave her a dirty look. "Computer games?" Was she retarded? What did that mean?

"Video games? RPGs? I've played some, but not the kind you're talking about."

What video games am I talking about? Where the hell did she pull this from? I couldn't keep the look from my face that plainly said, "Okay, so you're insane…" and thought, _What a waste. Poor Simon. I got his hopes up._

"But if you guys are into them?" She flashed a Ms. America-esque smile. " Then I'm certainly willing to give them a shot."

I was so lost at this point that I could only repeat what she said. "Them?"

"The games." She was so adamant; I was starting to feel a little crazy. Did I miss something here? "Role-playing, right? But I don't think the necromancer is for me, though I do appreciate the suggestion."

"Suggestion…." There I go again, repeating her words.

"That I play necromancer? That's why you had me look it up, right?" Her face was so innocent.

I finally was able to think back to a game Simon had bought. One of the characters had been like a necromancer, with the ability to raise the dead, though it was called something else. As I made the connection, the overwhelming urge to bang my head on the wall returned. This girl was making me masochistic. I constantly had the urge to bang my head on a wall in annoyance and frustration.

The stupid little chit thought I was inviting her to play a game. GAHHH!

"No, I didn't mean-"

"I suppose it could be cool," She cut me off. "playing a character who can raise the dead, but it's just, you know, not really _me_." She gave a little emphasis on the 'me', as if trying to spare my feelings. Too bad that she was really wrong about that. It was more 'her' than she knew. "A little too dark," She continued. "Too emo, you know? I'd rather play a magician."

For fuck's sake. She had to shut the hell up so I could tell her she was nuts. "I wasn't-"

"So I don't have to be a necromancer? Thanks."Her words had turned sarcastic. "I really do appreciate you taking the time to make me feel welcome. It's sooo sweet." And then she smiled. A little girl smile. So very happy. And yet it was much older because you could tell it was so, so false. And anger spread like wildfire. The wolf, who had been so present while I was down here, snarled. For once, I agreed, but the memory of the crippled boy stymied my anger, made me put a lid on it.

"I wasn't inviting you to a game, Chloe" I growled.

"No?"She said, not understanding the pure animalistic anger that rational brain was hiding. Her face was so innocent, but we knew better. "Then why would you send me to those sites about necromancers? Show me pictures of madmen raising armies of rotting zombies? Is that how you get your kicks, Derek? Scaring the new kids?" I didn't mean to scare her. I thought she'd make the connection. It's not that far of a reach. "Well, you've had your fun, and if you corner me again or lure me into the basement-"

I'm sorry. WHAT? "Lure you? I was trying to talk to you."If she would let me get out one damn word, I could explain.

"No." She looked me straight in the eye. "You were trying to scare me. Do it again and I'll tell the nurses." She sounded like a kindergartener, threatening to tattle. But her words agitated a deep, dark place in me. It made the walls I had kept up around the wolf part of me crash down. This girl was now a threat, someone who would get Simon and me in trouble or transferred. And all because she was too stupid to understand that she wasn't normal. That she was more. I tried to help her and now she would listen to me. RIGHT. FUCKING. NOW. The wolf was growling in my head as I glared at her, anger coming off me in waves. She made her , "Oh, I'm so innocent," face, but I knew better. She was scared. I could sense it.

And I liked it.

She stumbled back, fear in her eyes and it was intoxicating. My wolf breathed it in, saying, "This bitch should be scared."

At that, my rational brain woke up a little, unable to understand why my wolf self wanted her so frightened. When she started to run up the stairs, however, my first instinct in both brains said, "Stop her."

So I tried.

I grabbed her arm and tried to yank her back, but my strength didn't have its normal check on it. My brain wasn't focusing on trying not to use too much strength. It was an all out war up there and strength was forgotten.

I had accidentally yanked her so hard that I had picked up her tiny body. My rational brain saw this and screamed, "STOP!" So I let go. She crashed on the floor with a sickening sound.

Every single part of me stopped. My war that was in my head stopped. My breathing stopped. All of me just ceased to exist. What had I done? What had I done?

She didn't move and her face was away from me. Oh, god. No. No, no, no. I didn't throw her that hard. Oh, god.

I had to check. I slowly toed closer to her. When I was able to see her face, I almost choked on my relief. She was blinking. I didn't do it, I didn't-

She scrambled up, not using the arm I had grabbed. The look on her face- I felt like every scumbag that had ever beaten a woman. I felt like every asshole that can't control my temper. I had never imagined myself being one, but now I felt like one.

I felt that way because…. Well, now… I was every bit one of them.

She wore an expression of sheer terror, of wanting to cry, but being too strong to do it. I bet no guy had ever even yelled at her, let alone been such a monster as I was. I felt like I had killed her, at least in part, because there was something… darker in her expression now.

"Chloe, I-" I tried to reach out to her, to hug this stranger, to say I was sorry. So sorry. It'll all be okay. I'm so sorry.

She staggered back as my hand came near her, fright so apparent and naked on her face. She ran and seeing her run, like I was the devil on her heels, made me stare at the floor and call myself the name I deserved.

"Monster."


	9. Talk

Wow, the response to my last chapter was overwhelming. Hello, all my new readers and reviewers. Thank you for joining. And now, below is a chapter I have been meaning to find a place for and this seems like a good move away from all the angst of him harming Chloe. I don't want him to be all angsty for the next however many chapters, so we'll try and have him have a new purpose. As always, read and review. I love seeing your comments and I do take it into consideration what you say and I get all happy every time I read praise so give me stuff to think about or make me smile and I give you more chapters. Works for all of us.

DoarfthXx: I agree that part of me wants this to have dirty moments, but it does seem OC as others have pointed out. He will still have normal boy thoughts, but aside from maybe a few dreams or certain chapters where it's obvious, the dirty level will remain fairly consistent, at least until the very end. So stick around. :) Alternativemusicgirl: I hated this part, too. I abhor violence. But it was really interesting to write. And I kinda can't wait to write that scene, either. Alwaysreading: I'm confused. You hated Chloe when she was emotional? Or when she was upset at Derek? And Do you think Derek was too emotional? I agree. Poor Derek. That's why I tried to move him into motivated about helping her. He's not the kind of guy who mopes forever. Do you agree? Kelly Miley: Arg! I agree. You have convinced me, really. I mean, there will be dirty parts, but for the most part, he's Derek. Besides, certain chapters I'm already writing in my head, this will be almost PG-13. Except for the swearing. Elizi02: You gave me the best complement a writer can receive. I meant for it to be emotional and moving, and you telling me it made you want to cry was exactly the response I was looking for. Thank you for such a high compliment. I'll try and keep posting daily, but no promises. Life is too crazy :). Lululaura: At first I was really upset reading your post, but then I tried to understand it and see if I agreed. I'm not sure what you meant by too superior? Could you explain that for me? And in regards to the three brain thing, it's a lot how I think, to be honest. I have part of me that says yes, no and maybe all at once. It's very like how psychologists say we have the ego, superego, and the Id. The wolf is Derek's Id, base and primal. Ego is Teenage Derek, who doesn't actually get much say, unlike normal people's Ego. And Superego is the Derek we love. So, I apologize if it is distracting for you, but I believe it is the best way to show the internalized arguments Derek has within him and it's something I, at the very least, can easily relate to. I may just be weird, but I write from what I know. To my other reviewers: Thank you for your praise and emoticons :). They made staying up until five this morning writing this possible.

Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda owned darkest powers, but Kelley Armstrong wrote it first. Darn.

Derek's point of view

I stayed in the basement for ten minutes, reeking of self-loathing. Finally, I snapped out of it. I had hurt her, yes. But I had been attempting to help her. I had to control myself better. I had to. I would make it up to her. I would help her become one of us and I would help her fall for Simon. I screwed up, but I am not the guy that hits women.

I would make it up to her.

After reminding myself of what was important, I came out of the basement and no one was in sight. I found Simon up in our room, drawing. He was lying on his stomach on his bed, the drawing easy to see.

I looked at his drawing, admiring his work. He was still in the beginning portions of his sketching, so I couldn't tell what it was of yet. He didn't expect any critiquing this early in the game, so I simply walked past without a word, going to the dresser to grab clothes. He looked up from the drawing as I walked past.

"What were you up to downstairs? You disappeared after dinner." He shook his hand out, relieving a hand cramp. "I wanted to kick the ball around before it got too dark."

"Sorry." I searched the drawer for my sweatpants. I opened another drawer. After a minute of this, he sighed.

"You know, I noticed that there was no answer to the question."

"I gotta go take a shower. We can talk when I'm done."

Simon sat up. "Talk?"

Shit. I can't tell him about Chloe. It was stupid and reckless and I really couldn't take him looking at me like the monster I was. I needed a normal brother night.

Then an idea sprang from my mind. I had been wishing to try and plant in Simon's mind the idea of leaving me and finding Dad. He had resisted all previous attempts, but a lot had happened. Chloe may even be able to tag along for the ride. Then again, with what she had been telling the nurses, it was obvious she wanted out, but she was going through the sane route. Who knows?

"Well, we need to talk about Dad."

"What about him?" Simon looked at me, suspicion in his eyes. I had been trying to convince him to do this since we arrived at Lyle house.

"How long have we been here for?" I switched tactics.

He looked away.

"How long?"

"Three months." He mumbled it, not wanting to hear the truth of my next words.

"How long ago should Dad have found us?"

"I don't know, Derek. Awhile?" He was talking to the wall.

"What if he's hurt or what if he's in trouble for something and can't get to us? He was just gone, Simon. Nobody had passed through that door, but he was gone."

"What do you want me to do, Derek?" He jumped off the bed and spun around. "Leave you here to be evaluated until I bring back Dad? I won't leave without you."

"I can't go."

"Yes, you can! You and I could walk out of here and never look back, but you're being stubborn." His arms were being thrown all different ways, like he always did when he was angry.

"I'm being smart. I _crippled_ a kid. I need to learn how to control myself." Now, I was talking to the dresser, ashamed to look him in the eye. "It's not safe for you or anyone else if I leave now."

Simon walked up to me and pushed my shoulder so I faced him. "Don't say something so stupid, Derek. I have made you more mad than anyone else will be able to ever accomplish and you have never even almost hurt me." He looked at the ground. "You protected me. Don't make this worse than the situation was."

If anything, the escapade with Chloe earlier hardened my resolve. I had to stay here. I hurt her. It was that simple.

"Simon, Dad needs you." I sighed. "And we need Dad."

Simon thought about my words, considering all the angles, and then leaned against the dresser. "I don't go unless you do." He crossed his arms. "That's final. Dad said, 'Always stick together' and I agree. He'll find us."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then one day, you will get fed up with waiting and you'll leave with me. It's that simple."

"No. It's not that simple."

"I won't leave." He sat back down on his bed, picking up the sketch, signaling the conversation was done. He looked upset, so I dropped it. I grabbed my clothes and escaped into the hallway, hoping some hot water would relax me and make me less edgy.


	10. Dominance

Okay super-short, but I think you will like it. Next up is a whole Aunt Lauren filled chapter so I gotta gear up. There is a lot to the next chapter so wish me luck darlings. I'll try and have it by tomorrow night, but no promises.

doarfthXx: If I had written the original book, he would have told him about Chloe, but in The summoning he doesn't learn about it till the next day so I just had to work with what I was given here lol. Yeah he's very stubborn in an almost stupid fashion, but you gotta love him. Hydei: Which showdown are you referring to my dear? There are so many. I can try and make it extra good if you tell me :) . Kelly Miley: You'll just have to wait and find out what convinces him to leave. (Translation: No idea. Let me get back to you :) ). HawaiianGirl: What was the question? Do you mean is this the chapter? No, not for a while. If your asking is this that same book, then yes. I will eventually get to it and it will be a fun chapter for all :) All other reviewers: Thank you for A. joining B. Your Praise and C. Enjoying my hardwork.

As I would have changed certain little things in the original books, I am sure you are glad of the fact that I own no rights to Darkest Powers.

Derek's Point of View

It was sometime in the middle of the night when I woke to whispers and the sounds of a lock being picked. I was so tired I almost said, 'hell with it; I don't need to find out who it is'. But slowly, the pull of my bed lessened and I was able to sit up. It was the middle of the night. The moonlight gleamed off my chest; my shirt had been pulled off before bed. I reached down the side of my bed, feeling for it.

Carpet, carpet, book, tshirt_. There we go_. I pulled it over my head, listening for the whisperers. There were two, both women. I wouldn't have gone looking if I hadn't been able to hear the nurses sleeping, each with a distinct snore. Who was down there so early?

The lock being picked added suspicion. Rae, Chloe, or Tori? Which combination of girls was it? The voices were too low to hear words or whose voice they were. I got out of bed quietly. As I reached my door, I heard a swoosh, swoosh of a printer. Who would want to print something at this hour? I looked at my watch. It was two-thirty-seven. I looked back at my bed. I could just turn around and crawl back into it. It was all warm and cozy…

No. I had to see what was going on.

I padded down the hallway and reached the stairs as the printer stopped. File drawers were closed. Were those belonging to the file on the right or the left? I began to make my way down the stairs, moving slowly. The third stair down creaked as I placed my weight on it. It was so loud that I was sure someone had heard. I paused, holding my breath. After a long moment, I decided to continue. The next stair creaked as well, though quieter than the last. Two pairs of feet pattered down the hallway and straight into the kitchen.

There were some noises of shuffling that transferred down the hall.

"Come on," said Chloe, trying to act like she had been there the whole time. "Just pick something." Something in her voice was too pitchy and breathy. She was overly anxious.

"I can't find the Rice Krispie bars. I know there were some last week." Rae acted along side with her, trying to throw off whoever was investigating. She was much more believable, but I had heard a printer. They were pretty hard to mistake. It wouldn't work.

"The guys probably-" We actually probably did. Or at least I did. I really like Rice Krispies. If Simon had any, it was when I wasn't looking. Too sugary. "Someone's coming. Get the light!" She was way too loud to pretend that she was trying not to be noticed.

The light at the end of the hall shut off as I reached the doorway. I entered into the dark kitchen. The moon shone through the window, brightening everything in a cold light. I heard their breathing through the pantry and knew they were watching. I pretended to glance around the room searching for them, then went for the pantry, the obvious choice for hiding.

Chloe opened the door and stepped into the moonlight. Her skin glowed where the tanktop and pajama pants didn't cover. She looked almost mystical in the silver light, like the necromancer she was.

Then she lifted one arm from her side and showed me the box of Ritz in her hand. "Cracker?" she asked, dispelling the air of any mystical-ness. _Wow. I am now disillusioned._ I looked at her dopey little smile, the one that tried to pretend like 'everything was normal here'. It made me wonder how she could bounce from something that un-okay and smile at me. As I watched her face, it disappeared. Her eyes told me the truth. In them, I saw fear mixed with freaked-outedness.

Rae seemed to notice her quietness as she said, "We were getting a snack." My eyes didn't leave Chloe as I thought, _Were you taking pictures of your snacks and printing them to keep as mementos, too? _Rae gave up trying to distract me. "I'll get the juice." She squeezed past Chloe and went to the fridge. This drew my attention to the little line of boxes on the counter. Holy shit, how much food were they pretending to eat? I could conceivably eat that much, but they had a lot of boxes there. Still, it was a nice touch. It showed they had been in there the whole time. When my eyes swung back to Chloe, I noticed a small smile in the corner of her mouth, pride evident. This was obviously one of her parts of tonight's plan. It would have maybe worked on Simon, but not on me.

Being this devious was not good. She was becoming more on my watch list every hour she spent in this place. A temperamental, devious girl who looked like she was a teeny-bopper. If she told any nurse anything, I was out. She could probably think of something worse to say than what I did. I'm so screwed.

She must have known I didn't believe her because she stepped forward, closing the gap between us. Her eyes were bright, but no longer with fear. She didn't care if I knew about her real reason for being down here. She said, with her eyes, 'No, I will not be afraid of you.' For someone so little and… twiggy, she had a lot of guts. My wolf side could see this as a fight for domination. If you back down, you lose. He screamed for me to win, but I couldn't. She was too strong after what I did to her. I owed her. So resisting the urge to smile, I moved out of her way, allowing her to dominate me. I was wrong for what I did and she shouldn't be afraid. I would never allow myself to harm her again.

A random thought had me pick up a box from the counter and shake out a sleeve of saltines. I'm not sure why, but I couldn't just _let_ her win. I had to ruffle her feathers a bit at the very least. So offered the sleeve to her and said, "Forgot these." She paused. She knew I didn't believe her, but what could she say? "Right. Thanks," was her response as she walked quickly to the hall, Rae following her after.

I walked to the hallway, turning the opposite way, toward my side of the house. As I passed Dr. Gill's office, I looked at the door, stopping before it. She had been getting MY file tonight. She wasn't going to just mope around. She was going to examine me and see how bad a guy I was. I chuckled under my breath as I reached the hall. More and more on the watch list all the time.


	11. Distracted

Part one of the Aunt Lauren Fiasco. Next up is the shed scene which I know you all are eager for. Lot's of writing to do for that, and there was a decent stopping point so I decided to break it up to keep it the same as the other chapters. I'm trying to write every spare moment I have, which isn't much but considering I have a nine am class tomorrow and am now updating this, you should feel very loved. Hopefully tomarrow there will be another chapter update waiting for you :). As always read and review and make me a happy little writer.

Elizi02: The crawlspace chapter is one I am both sooo looking forward to and dreading. It's a VERy important chapter so I don't wanna let you down. For this chapter, I loved the Derek I wrote. He seemed (to me at least) to be both a nice guy and the Derek we all know all at once. I'm glad you agree with the direction I'm taking everything :) . Doarfth: I was soo tired when I wrote that one that I couldn't help but add it. I would not have investigated the noises either. But Derek is the one who always is on the look out so he had to. Plus the book had him get up :). I really wanted to keep this from being all angsty and depressing so I think that's what the last chapter did. I;m glad you seemed to agree. Kelly Miley: I KNOW! It's hard to write Derek for the first half of this book because he's not in it a lot. He kinda pops in and says hi then pops out. Later on you will get more Derek than you can handle! And I will try extra hard to make the shed chapter extra enjoyable just for you and all my other awesome readers :D Sweetdreams: if Disney movies (the classics, not the damn Hannah Montana movies) have taught me anything, its that you can be a strong person no matter how big or small or who you are. Lol just wanted to add that. She is strong, like every woman should be. No girl should ever let a guy boss her around. And that's my public service announcement for the day. Hydei: he really does deserve it. Really really does. Bookninja: Welcome! Thank you for all your praise and I'm soooo glad you like the slow progression. I never understood the few I read were it was BAM! I LOVE YOU! SO I decided I would tell my side. Lol I'm glad you liked the end of chapter nine. I work so hard on my chapters and I love detailed praise or critiquing. It makes me think and try and give you guys better chapters. Pertaining to how dirty were gunna get, it will have some eyebrow raising, makes you wanna squeal with laughter moments in this book, but not till later and there will be more by last book by a long shot. LOOONG shot. Lol Always reading: That's what he seems to do about everything. (on the inside) I'm glad you enjoy his laughing. :D

Here's your chapter, I don't own the right's, you know the drill. You prolly don't even read this. So …. Bananas. If you post that word in your review, ill know that you actually read this whole damn chuck of before space.

Derek's point of view

Breakfast smelled delicious the next morning and it lured me out of bed, despite the overwhelming fatigue from two nights in a row of disrupted sleep. Simon woke up at the same time as I did, but being unable to smell breakfast, he was still sitting up in bed as I was leaving the room, dressed enough for breakfast. I padded down the hall and down the stairs. An unfamiliar woman's voice was downstairs, talking to a nurse. They were talking about Chloe.

Mrs. Talbot assured the woman, "No, no, she has been showing remarkable progress. Dr. Gill has told me that she has been extremely mature about the entire situation and should be a quick rehabilitation."  
A pause and then a very happy voice said, "That's wonderful. She has always been such a good girl, very adult."

The urge to laugh bubbled up, but I kept my mouth shut. As I passed the living room, I could see a blond woman standing with Mrs. Talbot. She was very A-type looking. Her hair was immaculate and she had nice makeup and clothes. Where did she fit with Chloe, who was quiet and undemanding for most people? From what the woman had just said, she must be very obedient and unimposing for everyone but me. How did I ever get so lucky?

This must be her aunt. As I looked into the living room, she saw me at the same time. Her eyes widened as she took in my size, as all people did first. Then she looked at me, eyeing my face and baggy clothes. A look passed over her face that was disapproval. "Hello," she said.

Annoyed by her disapproval, I walked on. As if I cared what this woman thought. The smell of food was much more inviting than an awkward conversation.

Mrs. Talbot rushed to apologize for my behavior, then said, "That's Derek. He doesn't mean to be rude." Sure, I don't. "That's just how he is. Please don't be offended."

"No, no. Of course not," she said, thoughts elsewhere.

"So," Mrs. Talbot changed the subject. "You said on the phone that you needed to ask for a favor?"

"Ah, yes. You see, Chloe was given this necklace by her mother and…"

I stopped listening, uninterested. I sat down at the table and forgot all about Chloe's aunt. The girls came down halfway through our breakfast and ate with us. Chloe was gone, eating breakfast with her aunt instead. Tori was pissed because of this, but lately she had no other mood. Liz wasn't even around to chill her out so she just scowled around the house 24/7. Breakfast was quiet, all of us uninterested in saying anything to each other. Simon kept glancing at the door, as if hoping Chloe would come in. When I was done, I hurried to go shower and get dressed.

When I came down, as clean as I could make my over-zealous body, Chloe was back and Simon was a lot happier. He asked her how breakfast had gone as we entered the classroom. She sat down next to him and told him, 'It was fine.' She was distracted and unhappy. I wondered if that was my fault or if it had been from breakfast.

Then I heard her aunt in Dr. Gill's office. "I'm worried about that Derek boy." She paused, dramatically. "I feel his particular type of personality could lead to problems in the house."

"There is nothing to worry about, Ms. Fellows."

"No? Nothing? Then how did he arrive here, Mrs. Talbot?" She spat back, angry.

"It is of no concern. We have had nothing but good behavior from Derek."

"Ignoring when guests say hello is good behavior? If that's the case, he could have autism or any other sort of inability to see that he is hurting people or being rude. That does not seem like a good influence on my niece."

"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way. What do you think we should do?"

"I want him gone." What a cold, callous bitch.

"That is an over-reaction to him not saying hello to you. Derek has been exemplary in almost all aspects. I'm sorry you feel the way you do, but I think we can agree that that is your own prejudices." So she had also noticed her sizing me up earlier.

"My own prejudices?" She scoffed. "My own-? Did you know he grabbed Chloe? Scared her so bad she didn't even want to talk about it."

There was a moment of silence.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuckity FUCK. I can't be transferred. I can't leave Simon. How could she? I let her win last night. Why did she bother waiting till today?

"Well. Well. We shall deal with this swiftly, Ms. Fellows. I'm very sorry this has occurred."

"Is he going to be transferred?"

"That is something the director and us nurses will have to deal with. Now, if you'll excuse me?"

A pause. "Yes, of course." She was not happy that the answer was not a yes. You could hear it in her voice. She left and Ms. Talbot began murmuring to herself.

Shit. Fuck. Goddamnit.

I was unable to concentrate the entire class period. When we left class, I was doing all I could do not to freak the hell out.

Tori was putting a spectacle in the hall, blocking the way for Simon and I. We stayed in the doorway.

"Did you have a good breakfast with your auntie? Parents too busy for you, I guess?"

"I'm sure mom would have made it. But it's kind of hard for her, being dead and all." Chloe was ready to serve Tori back her own bitchiness. I would feel better about this if she didn't just serve me some, too.

"So, what did you do to deserve a pass already, Chloe? Was that your award for helping them get rid of Liz?" Well, not even dead mothers were stopping Tori today.

"She didn't-"

"Like you're any better, _Rachelle_." I will never understand why some girls get so bothered by someone saying their whole name. Sure, they can prefer something else, but Rae was actually mad when it happened. "You couldn't even wait until Liz's bed was cold before you bunked down with your new buddy. So, Chloe, what's with the special treatment?"

"It's not special. Your mom takes you out all the time. In Chloe's case, it's probably a reward for good behavior. With you, it's just because your mom's on the board of directors."

Tori's face screwed up and she turned a hideous color of red. "Yeah? Well, we don't see your parents coming around, do we, Rachelle?" Someone save me from the drama in this house. Oh, wait. I was probably going to be transferred. It was almost appealing for that reason alone. But not having Simon would be too bad for me to handle. "How many times have they called or visited since you've been here? Let's see… oh, right, zero. And it's got nothing to do with bad behavior. They just don't care." Damn. Someone get Tori some of those pills again. She need to zombie out for a while.

Rae pushed her, hard into the wall. Tori shrieked like she had been stabbed.

"She burned me!" She was holding her shoulder and screaming.

"I _pushed_ you." Rae's eyes had gotten real wide at Tori's accusation, then narrowed as she spoke.

Mrs. Wang hurried past us and we edged closer out the door into view of the two girls who weren't conniving bitches.

"Rae burned me. She has matches of something. Look, look…" Tori was flipping out, pulling down her t-shirt. I resisted the urge to cover my eyes. Not even the boy brain wanted to see that.

"Leave your clothes on, Tori. Please." Simon did cover his eyes, making me laugh.

Chloe turned and looked at me like I sprouted fangs. I did laugh every so often, contrary to her beliefs.

"She burned me! I felt it! She's hiding matches again. Search her. _Do_ something."

"How about you do something, Tori?" Simon walked past, obliviously done being nice to Tori. "Like get a life."

Tori lunged at Rae, an animalistic screech emitting from her. The nurses grabbed her and stopped her, but it was still funny to see as I walked to join Simon, mind momentarily distracted from my freaking out.


	12. Guilt

Oh, my darlings, so many of you made my day. My little banana comments had me smiling like a moron. The Spanish comment threw me, but thankfully google translate had my back. I never took Spanish. I was a French kind of girl. So this was exhausting. SUPER FUCKING EXHAUSTING! I feel like I was just in this whole mess as an actual participant. I hope you all enjoy my blood, sweat, and tears though (Okay, I didn't really do any of that, but still…).

Bookninja15: You know what? Laughing too much is way better than not laughing. Glad to hear that actually. It's great that I am such an important part of your day. I love all the expression you guys have for my story. It keeps me writing for you, even when I sooo wanted to just fall into bed tonight. I had to give you another chapter to squeal about. And I'm glad it's in a non-stalker way. But just in case, I'll keep my city and stuff to myself :) lol just kidding. Thank you for all the nice things you said. DoarfthXx: I swear to god, I could write your name in my sleep. In the beginning of your comments, I was copying and pasting it, but now I know it. That shows me that you are one great little reviewer. SO thank you for being here every chapter. Now,a bout him and Chloe getting on better terms… Yeah, you won't like this chapter for that reason. BUUUT stick around. I can only write what Armstrong gives me, but I am eagerly awaiting a time where I can help these two along :). Elizi02: yep, there is a little while, but there's a slightly fun chapter between here and there to get excited about. Nothing too…. Fun, but still. You will adore it I believe. Alternativemusicgirl: Yay, bananas! That makes my day. Yep, I am taking this through reckoning, unless something changes my mind between now and then. Not saying anything will, but I am leaving a possibility. About aunt lauren, She may seem a bit… over the top because I really hate her character. Don't think I'm a bad person, but I kinda hoped she stayed locked up. I really hate her. SO she might be a bit more hate-able when I write her. Sweetdreams: How did I know that you would say banana's? You're just so sweet I knew you read every word I guess… Thanks for being here from the first comment till now. Kelley Miley: I think Derek is starting to notice things, but he's dense so who knows when he'll figure it out :) . I'm so glad you had a moment of fear. That's the worst part of writing off a story. EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! Lol it makes me all nervous for setting things up and wording things JUUUUUST right. Latina She-wolf: Welcome! I'm glad you enjoy it. I will try and make the crawlspace scene superb for you and all my others who eagerly await it. Ayden mae: Welcome! And yay bananas! Yes, I do plan on doing the whole series. I try not to make him into the asshole he seems on the outside for the first two thirds of this book. I'm glad you think he's the guy we all fall in love with. That is my aim here. I'm glad you like my story. The one thing I'll have to disagree on is that there is no possible way for me to update more. I update almost every day! I would never do anything else if I did it any more than that! But I'm glad you're so eager for more :) Ivorybreath: Welcome! I'm trying to update as fast as I can so you won't have to wait long. :) Alwaysreading: yeah I really hate Aunt Lauren too. Like a lot. I wish I could save him too, but you guys would probably be upset if I just ended it tomarrow all happily ever after and totally not what the book said. :( lol I really lke Tori's character. She's very dynamic and yet she always has part of her original self in there.

Thank you my banana heads. Yayyyy! You made my day despite the fact that I do not own any right's to Darkest powers. Awww…. But you made it way better to swallow that truth :)

Derek's point of view.

After break, we went back to class, Tori now doped up. I knew what was coming. They were going to talk to me during Dr. Gill and I's session time. I looked around the dining room, mentally cataloging everything. Simon, at the very least, was happy here. He knew he was safe here. He missed Dad, but what else could we do? Even though I didn't enjoy everything about this place, I knew the next thing would be so much worse. The places they put people like me would be cold and desolate. I would never see Simon again, unless Dad managed to pull some strings. If he ever came back…

I looked at Simon. When I left, he'd be alone. I might never see him again. Then again, me being transferred could give him the boost to leave and find Dad. So, good could come of this.

An hour before lunch, I got up and started the dreaded walk to Dr. Gill's office. I felt like I was on death row. I _had_ done something bad, but I was going to fix it. I really was. No one deserves this feeling. Dread crept up my spine as I reached her door. Shit, I so didn't want to go in there. Ignoring my little nervous voice in my head, I steeled myself for the yelling and the blame. I put my hand on the knob and took a deep breath. Time to face it.

I opened the door and Dr. Gill looked up from the file on her desk. I could see my name on it's little tab. Shit.

"Hello, Derek. Right on time." She gave a small, half-hearted smile. Oh, god, they were sending me somewhere bad.

I stood in the doorway, hand on the knob as I imagined the horrible places they could send me to. Places where you had a bed with straps. And a window that you can't fit out of, with bars on the window to make sure you never try.

"Sit down, Derek. We have some things to discuss."

I forced my legs to unlock, to move towards the chair where I had spent so many hours talking and rehearsing and trying to get better. I may never sit there and get better again. I sat down, heavy with remorse for what I had done. So stupid of me. I can't keep my temper down towards a tiny girl. No wonder I was being transferred.

"Derek?" She looked at me until I raised my eyes to hers. "Do you know what I want to talk about?"

"Yes."

"That's good. Why don't you tell me what happened in your words?"

Sweet Dr. Gill, trying to have me talk about my feelings to the end. "Chloe and I got into a bit of an argument. It was over something stupid, but I thought I was right. When she went to walk away, I grabbed her to make her stop." I lowered my eyes. "I may have grabbed harder than I meant to."

"Did you mean to hurt Chloe in any way?"

I looked at her, shocked. "Hell, no! I would never-" I checked myself quickly. "I mean, no."

She examined me thoughtfully. "Derek, I thought we were making such progress here."

I didn't answer.

"Well, Derek, understandably everyone is very upset about this situation. I imagine Chloe is very distraught." I winced. Her beady eyes saw and she smiled. "I know that you would never hurt anyone on purpose, Derek, but Chloe's aunt is not so sure. She wants you transferred."

Oh, god. She said it. There it is, said and done with. I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes, overwhelmed by all of it.

"Now, that's not what we're going to do just yet, but you need to know that it was given serious consideration." I opened my eyes, staring at the ceiling. What? Not- "You need to understand the gravity of all of this. This is why I am telling you this next part. If I had not advocated so strongly for you, you would be gone."

I'm not gone. I am not transferred!

"Even with my helping, you will be on probation. We will be watching you closely. You cannot afford to do anything even remotely hostile towards Chloe. In fact, try to avoid her. If the nurses see any behavior that they find at all unreasonable, you will be transferred. Is that understood?"

"Yes." I kept my face blank as I met her eyes. "Yes, I understand completely."

"Good. Now, let's begin our actual counseling session."

For the rest of the hour, we broke it down. Luckily, she didn't ask for details on what we had been discussing, more concerned with my feelings and thought processes. She wanted to help me understand where I had gone wrong so I could control it.

At the end of the hour, she said, "Well, it's about time for lunch. I think we've given you plenty to think about until tomorrow, don't you think?"

"Yeah." I got up and went to the door. "See you tomorrow, Dr." I put my hand on the door, then turned back to the mousy woman. "Thank you. Thank you for sticking up for me."

She beamed like she had just won Ms. America. "You're welcome, Derek. Just don't let it happen again."

I opened the door and exited the room, uncomfortable with how happy she looked by a simple 'Thank you.'

I turned my head from her figure to a more petite one. Chloe was standing by the bathroom door. She looked at me, eyes wide. Forcing myself to be nice, just play it nice for awhile, I said, "Hi." I began to walk around her, as far away from touching her as I could in the narrow hallway.

Simon opened the bathroom door. He had his insulin bag in his hand and as his eyes found Chloe's face, he slid it nonchalantly into his back pocket. "Whoops. Guess I'm hogging the bathroom again, causing lines."

I wanted away from Chloe as fast as possible so I said, "Just Chloe," as I opened the door wider, hoping she would hurry inside. She looked at me like I had grown a third head, fully expecting me to be less nice after she had told, not more. Well, I was not getting transferred here because this chick would rather be a psycho than a necromancer. Simon could try if he wanted. I was out of the game. No thank you, amigo.

Chloe entered the bathroom and I turned down the hall, toward our room. Simon said, "Hey, lunch is this way."

I didn't look back as I said, "Start without me. I gotta get something from our room."

I thought Simon had let it go for two seconds before I heard, "Hold up." Damn. I did not want to do this.

I was able to reach the stairs before he caught up with me. He began climbing the stairs after me, talking to my back in the narrow staircase. "What's going on? You never go to any meal late." He was trying for a bit of humor, but I'm sure that is, in fact, what tipped him off to my mood.

"Nothing. Just a difficult session today."

I reached the top of the stairs and Simon caught up to me, walking side-by-side. "What happened?" Oh, Simon. The perfect little savior, no matter who for.

"Nothing in particular. Lots of emotion. Don't really want to talk about it." I was now mentally recapping what we had talked about. I was very grateful Dr. Gill had spoken for me. I would have never guessed.

"Oh… Okay." He seemed depressed that I wasn't up to sharing, but changed the subject, always willing to make me feel better. "So I want us to talk to Chloe tonight. Tell her about the necromancy thing. Help her see what I can do and talk to her about what she can do."

I was pretending to look for my math book. I was so focused on doing so that I wasn't thinking. "Oh, I can't do it. I'm not allowed anymore." I was thinking back to Dr. Gill's office. She had told me to avoid her, and that had seemed like a blessing, but it will be harder if Simon is making goo goo eyes at her.

"What?" He was confused. His 'what' snapped me back to the present. Shit.

"Um, nothing." Caught off guard, I am a terrible liar. "I was just saying I don't want to." There that's better. More believable.

Too bad Simon didn't agree.

"That's not what you said, though. You said that you're not allowed to. Why aren't you allowed to?" He was starting to get mad.

"Never mind." I started to leave the room.

"No. What the hell is going on?" He looked hurt. "You've been freaked out since yesterday about something and I thought you would tell me, but I guess not."

"I-" Shit. "I did something stupid, okay? The nurses found out and I'm just on probation. I could get transferred if I'm not careful. So just trust me. They'll be on high alert for a little while. Anything could set them off. I don't want to talk about it. I just spent an hour talking about it. I'll tell you later."

"No, now. You're on probation from people or…" He looked away from me, thinking, remembering the past day. "It's Chloe, isn't it?"

I looked away. Mrs. Talbot called up the stairs, "Boys, time for lunch."

"Isn't it?"

I couldn't answer for a minute, my throat felt stuck. "Look, I-" I swallowed. "I was talking to Chloe and- and I did something stupid."

"Boys, now. I will not repeat myself again."

We took a long look at each other and I said, "Later. I promise," as I ducked out the door.

"We're coming," I shouted to her.

Simon stayed in the room, stewing over what I said for thirty seconds longer, before he began to follow.

Lunch was quiet, like breakfast had been. Simon, Chloe, I were all too deep into thinking to really talk much. Rae tried with Chloe, but eventually just ate quietly. Tori was still zombified. I was thinking of how I would explain to Simon later. How do I not get him mad at me? I did something inexcusable, but I didn't need him chewing me out on top of my own feelings on the matter.

When lunch ended, we all went to do our clean up chores before class. Simon had to clear the table and I swept the kitchen and dining room, so I didn't notice when he followed Chloe out the door when she went to take out the trash.

When I was putting away the broom, done with my chore, I listened for Simon and heard him outside, to my surprise. He said, "Something happened with you two last night, didn't it? Derek came upstairs completely freaked out. Said he was talking to you and screwed up. That's all he'd tell me."

Chloe was silent. I started to go out the door, trying to get Simon out of there. I didn't need him stirring up anything. One word from her and I was gone.

As I passed the doorway, I heard, "It was hot at the restaurant. So I rolled up my sleeves."

Shit. I had left bruises. Fuck. A new wave of guilt hit me.

"What?" Shit, she was telling him. Before I could. He was going to be so mad.

"My aunt wanted to know what happened." I reached the shed, knowing they were on the other side. I stopped, listening to her words. "When I wouldn't tell her, she tricked me into admitting it was a boy. She met Derek this morning and he was rude, so she decided it had to be him. I never confirmed it. If he's in trouble, it is _not_ my fault. I had every right to tell someone and I didn't."

Well. I no longer thought she was a tattletale. It's unfortunate, but all my fault. Everything. If I had said, "Hello," this morning, she might not have guessed. Then again, I am six three. She may have anyways, thinking back to Mrs. Talbot's comment about prejudices.

"Okay, okay." Oh god, Simon, don't hate me. "So he grabbed your arm. That's what it looks like. Right? He just grabbed harder than he thought." He would defend me if I was standing over a dead body. That's the best part of Simon. He's sees who you are, all the good and knows who you want to be.

"He threw me across a room." I did not. I yanked her back.

"But he didn't _mean_ to. If you saw how freaked he was last night, you'd know that."

"So that makes it okay? If I lose my temper and smack you, that's alright, because I didn't mean to, didn't _plan_ to.

"You don't understand." Oh, shit. No telling her, Simon. Not allowed. "He just-"

"She's right." I began to walk around the corner. This girl didn't deserve to know about me. She wouldn't accept herself, let alone me. And she's the less scary one.

As I went around the corner, Chloe shrank back, like a woman who has been beaten. It made me ride that fresh wave of guilt once more. God, if I could take it back-

No. Time to get Simon away before he blabbed or upset Chloe enough so she'd tattle. I stopped a good distance from her, afraid to scare her off.

"I wanted to talk to you last night. When you tried to leave , I pulled you back and…" I couldn't keep my eyes on her face.

"You _threw_ me across the room."

"I didn't-" The image of her little body crashing on the floor ran through my mind, stong enough to stop me. "Yeah, you're right. Like I said. No excuse. Simon? Let's go." I wanted him to go, now.

Simon just shook his head, ignoring me. "She doesn't understand."He turned back to Chloe. "See, Chloe, it's not Derek's fault. He's super strong and-" GODAMNIT, Simon. Can't you keep one little secret for me?

"And you weren't wearing your kryptonite necklace." I gave a small smile as I remembered what everyone had writ off the first time as. "Yeah, I'm big. I got big fast. Maybe I don't know my own strength yet." My words echoed those of so many other people, all adults, all trying to figure out how I did it.

"That's not-" I was done letting him talk.

"No excuse, like you said. You want me to stay away from you? Wish granted."

"Derek, tell her-" Nope.

"Drop it, okay?" I gave him eyes that meant it. Drop it now, they said. "She's not interested. She's made that very, very clear. Now let's go before someone catches me with her and I get stomped again." Simon gave me eyes that pleaded with me, let me tell her, but as he did, Mrs. Talbot's voice rang out across the yard.

"Chloe!" Fuck. Great. What I had feared most.

"Perfect timing. Must have ESP."

"Just a second," Chloe called. She moved into the area where Mrs. Talbot could see her, preventing her from coming and looking. Good girl.

But now it was time for us all to part ways. This was not a good situation.

"Go on," I said. Part of me would have left it at that, but I was mad. Mad about her not accepting what she was. Mad about being so close to gone. Mad that Simon would tell her what I had asked him not to. Her coming here seems to have fucked up my life. "You don't want to be late for your meds." Not you, the girl who wanted to be the psycho.

She glared at me, then started to walk. Simon muttered a small spell under his breath before I could even realize what he was doing. Fog rose up from the ground, scaring Chloe into stumbling back. So damn skittish.

"Simon!" I was now pissed. He wouldn't leave this alone until later. GAH!

"What is that?" She asked, some part of her aware that one of us had caused it. That girl was in denial of herself, but knew we had something to do with the smoke. Oh, well. She'd get curious and ask Simon later on. I just had to end this conversation for now. "What's what?" I pretended not to see anything. "Huh. Must be a ghost. No, wait, you don't see ghosts. You hallucinate. Guess it's a hallucination." Why does this girl make me so crazy? I get so mad and I just want to keep upping the ante around her. I couldn't let her just walk away. She had to be as angry as I was. Why?

"That's not-" Why did this girl not just say that she was a necromancer? Admit it. Just admit it!

"It's nothing, Chloe." My voice became soothing, like every adult in her life. Her aunt had said she was such a good girl. Well, obviously not for me. So, not it's time to show her that everyone else was making her naïve by her just doing everything they told her, swallowing their pills and ignoring what I could see plainly that she knew somewhere inside of her. "Just your imagination, like everything else" My sarcasm was thick enough to walk on. "Now, run along and take your meds and be a good girl. Don't worry, I'll stay out of your way from now on. Seems I made a mistake." I had. Why did I think me telling her would work? Why did I even want to so damn badly? All of these uncertainties made me even madder, at myself and her. "A _big_ mistake."

I saw her suck in a breath, pissed off. She clenched her fists, the least threatening gesture ever, considering her size.

"Watch it, Chloe. You wouldn't want to hit me. Then _I'd_ have to tattle on _you_."

Simon's natural knightly instincts started to flare up. "Cut it out, Derek. She didn't tattle-"

"He knows that. He's baiting me." She stared into my eyes, every inch of her unintimidated and unimpressed with my theatrics. "He's jerk and a bully and whatever secret's he's taunting me with, he can keep them. He's right. I'm not interested."At that she turned and grabbed the wagon.

Was I trying to bait her, make her come back and find out everything. A second's worth of reflection said, "Yes." For no reason at all, I did want her to find out who she was. She was stubborn as hell, and maybe that's part of the reason I wanted her to know. It almost seemed she could be as stubborn as me. Next time, instead of me telling her though, I hoped it would be Simon. I needed to get her to come back to Simon with her questions. And she would.

Simon was caught between a rock and a hard place. I was his brother and he would always have my back, but this is a girl he really liked. Really, really liked. And she wasn't a tattle tale. He watched her try and get the wagon moving and then said, "Here. I'll take that."

"She's got it." We needed to talk. Desperately. This was all too out of hand and he hadn't helped a damn bit. We had to get on the same page.

I put my hand on his shoulder, signaling for him to stay. He shrugged it off, saying, "Chloe," as she wheeled it away.

He turned to me, upset to a point I have rarely seen him. "What the hell, Derek?"


	13. Smile

So, Yay! Over One thousand vistitors! Very, very exciting for me. And also over twenty thousand words in my story (Not including A/N). So a big couple days for my story. I'm very sorry about missing the upload last night, but it was a crazy night. So here it is today. I want all of you to know that I'm grateful for each and every one of my readers and especially grateful to my reviewers. Thanks for helping me out when I'm uncertain and giving me motivation to make my lazy ass keep writing for you guys. And to those who said bananas or forgot to, thanks for taking the time to read all this. I know it's tempting to just read the chapter : ). Now that all that is said and done, please enjoy and read and review.

Bookninja: Yay, banana! I'm glad you like that I try and include Chloe in this. It's difficult for this book because for the first half of it, they hardly speak. I try hard to keep it interesting and keep Chloe in it, and thank you for noticing :). Doarfth: right now I believe his other brains have been taken over by smart brain, but who knows the influence the other two have on him? :) and yeah when Simon's mad, you kinda just know that you did something wrong. KakiTensei: Welcome! Thank you for your praise. I really like the word beautiful. It made my day! SomethingSomething: Welcome! Yeah, I right this story with the book in my lap so that I make sure there are NO inconsistencies. If I ever have any don't hesitate to yell at me. I'm glad this is more than you expected : ). Kelley Miley: Yay, Bananas! I'm so glad you like him. I get a little afraid during some moments that I'm taking liberties. Your comment makes me so happy and makes me want to keep writing. For Dr. Gill, I always imagined she really did care about Derek. She spent so much time trying to help him and she had to see how bad he wanted to get better. Even when Derek found out about the Edison Group, he said something about Dr. Gill still being a nice person or something (Don't remember exactly but it was a positive thing he said.) So, I imagine this would make him believe in her to that point. All other reviewers: Thank you for commenting and your nice things you said and your emoticons and your worry for Derek. Here is the answer to your questions!

I love you, You love me, We're all one big family, but I'm not Kelley Armstrong and I don't own any rights, won't Derek say he loves you too?

Derek's Point of View

What the hell, Derek?" He turned on me, pissed to the core. "You didn't need to treat her like that."

"You're right." I said, circumventing a potentially twenty minute argument.

"I'm- Huh?"

"You're right. I didn't need to say some of those things. Some was just me antagonizing her. Some was me making sure she came back for more."

"Came back for- She wouldn't do that. Did you see the look-"

"Not me, obviously. She would, however, come back to you. I baited her, peaked her interest, annoyed her, so she'd try asking you. I kinda failed at trying to help her." I looked away, uncomfortable at this last sentence.

"What happened?" He said, softly.

"I saw her on the computer, looking up a dead custodian from her school. It was the one that she saw. I'm sure of it. The look on her face when I confronted her about it told me that she had seen this dead guy before." I took a deep breath. "So I asked her what she was doing. She told me it was a project for school. For when she got out. Stupid ass lie." The last sentence was said under my breath, annoyed.

"So what happened? How did it turn into you grabbing her?" He was a little disappointed in me, you could just hear it in his voice. No matter how much he defended me, I had thrown a tiny as hell girl that he was in deep like with. No wonder he was mad. After all that, I was a dick. In his eyes, I was acting like a jerk, yelling at her after it all. But I was doing what I had to. She'd be fine. Obviously, she was just fine standing up for herself.

I kept my eyes on the ground as I told him exactly what had happened last night. He kept his opinions to himself as I told him everything, up until Dr. Gill's appointment. He sighed. I kept my eyes on the ground, upset that it came to this. I should have told him last night. I should have just sucked it up and told him.

"Well?" I asked.

"So, are you mad?" Me mad? He was the one who I was worried would be angry.

"Mad?"

"You were very upset with Chloe. You wouldn't even let me explain."

"For now, I just wanna drop this. It's been a hard day. I especially don't want you to tell her about me. She can't know. I mean, hell, you won't tell her about your diabetes because she's a stranger or you think it's not cool or whatever, but what you want to tell her would scare her away for real. She'd run away screaming. If she believed you at all."

Simon looked thoughtful. "Yeah, I guess. But we could-"

"No." He opened his mouth to argue. "No, nothing more today. Well, talk about it tonight okay?"

"You okay?" He said, staring at me. "You look upset."

"Just… Later okay?"

"Okay."

We went inside, me exhausted. This entire day had been too stressful. I was just tired. I felt a million years old.

Chloe was nowhere to be seen, and I wasn't looking for her. Simon and I went back to the classroom, gathering our stuff for the next class. The rest of our school portion of the day was quiet and uncomfortable. Chloe didn't look at us, Simon looked at her a lot, and I tried to keep my mind away from it all.

It was eventually Simon that gave me something to smile about. After classes and before dinner, he made his way with me to the pantry to grab snacks like we always did, but left me in the dining room to do my homework. I listened to him trying to nonchalantly walk past the media room where Chloe and Rae were doing their homework. He kept going upstairs, standing on the stairs for a few minutes telling himself he was being an idiot, then he'd do it all again. I stuck my head out the dining room door once and saw him looking at Chloe, head forward, but eyes sideways, stealing glimpses. Oh, Jesus.

It made me smile to see him acting so silly, like a kid. It also made me understand why the stupid fool had been trying so hard to tell her why I wasn't just a jerk. Not that it was an excuse, but still. He really likes her and it's the kind of like that just draws him to her. He just keeps wanting to talk to her, to make it alright. I didn't understand how he felt so strongly this early in the game, but that's Simon. Hopeless. Finally, Simon gave up after walk-by number 6. We finished our homework without a word to his silliness.

When dinner came, I scarfed it down. Too much stress in my day made me want to start gnawing on furniture. It had to be some protective instinct, but it just made me duck my head and eat faster, filling my stomach until it groaned in defeat. Today was no exception and soon I was as full as I could possibly get. When everyone was done, we started clearing the table, getting ready to do our chores. Mrs. Talbot came in with Dr. Davidoff following her. Dr. Davidoff was an okay guy. He came around every so often to check Dr. Gill's work

"This must be little Chloe Saunders." He said, always acting like everyone 80-year-old grandfather. "I like your hair, Chloe. Red Stripes. Very cool." Oh, lord.

I eyed the basket of garlic bread still on the table then swooped in and grabbed a few pieces, ripping them into smaller pieces.

"Hey, Dr. D." Rae came around the side of Davidoff.

"Rachelle." She made a small face. "Oh, sorry, Rae, right? Are you keeping out of trouble?"

Rae gave a lottery-winning smile. "Always, Dr. D." He sounded almost like a rapper if you called him Dr. D. The difference between that image and the man in front of me made me need to shove an entire piece of bread in my mouth to keep from smiling.

"That's my girl. Now, Chloe, Dr. Gill tells me you had quite a breakthrough today." I looked up from my bread. "She's very pleased with your progress and how quickly you've fit into the therapeutic routine and accepted your diagnosis."

She looked guilty. Jesus, this girl didn't believe the diagnosis at all. Her face was shouting that right now. She knew. She pretended she didn't, but she knew. She glanced at me, nervous. Checking to see my reaction. She didn't want me to know that she knew. Why would she check my reaction though? She should be checking Simon's. He was the one that still cared.

"Normally, I don't meet with our young people until they've been here at least a week, but you're speeding right along, Chloe. I don't want to hold you back. I'm sure you're eager to get back to your friends and school as soon as possible." Ah. That's it. She knows she's different, but she just wants to go back to her old life. Even if it's a lie, she'd rather go back.

"Yes, Sir," She was smiling just like Rae had, an exact copy.

"Come along then and we'll chat in Dr. Gill's office."

He started to lead her out the door. Tori stepped in front of them. "Hello, Dr. Davidoff. That new medication you have me on is working great. I'm really doing well." Even though Tori was a bitch, I kinda felt bad when she groveled for attention like this. It really isn't healthy.

"That's good, Victoria." He walked by her, patting her arm and not looking back. Tori's smile fell and for a moment she looked like Simon did when he got heartbroken. An almost exact look on her face as Simon got.

Then she scowled and the familiarity was gone. I shook my head, thinking how people who like drama and hang in the same circles for long enough, start to share expressions. Her scowl hardened as she saw me looking in her direction. Without even saying a word, she turned and walked away. Like I wasn't enough to even waste breath talking to. What a bitch. This day was just getting better and better.


	14. Priceless

Oh my heavens. It has been an insane two days. I would just like to say that I did not forget to update. Sadly, the free trial on my word processor died (After two years. Two. It was supposed to last 90 days and it lasted two.) It would not let me access my files. So this was lost to me. I couldn't update this chapter. So I didn't forget about you. It actually upset me that I couldn't update because this was done the day that I updated last. I was ready for it. So don't be mad. Stupid Microsoft wouldn't let me have it back. Though I would like to say thank you to my boyfriend for finally getting my chapters out of limbo. Now about this chapter, Kelley actually did put what Derek was doing at the time. Chloe and Simon used DS's to talk and Simon said that Derek took a shower at eight and to meet him on the lawn. So to all my reviewers, sorry that I wasn't able to do more with it. I believe in following the book for this. So, Derek didn't hear anything. But I think you'll enjoy my very long chapter for you.

Ivory breath: Awww. Thank you, my dear. Kakitenshi: There was a lot of one word sentences in my comments : ). I'm glad you like the subtlety in here (It's okay about the misspelling. Spellcheck and I are good, good friends) A lot of people wanted it sped up at the beginning, but I think you all love the suspense : ). : Hey, when you review put in a name so I can comment okay? Even if it's something ridiculous and made up, give me something! : ). Hydei: I always thought that Derek should see some sort of resemblance at least once or twice. HE sees Simons face EVERYDAY OF HIS LIFE SINCE HE WAS FIVE. SO I'm glad you enjoyed it. Kelly Miley: Wow. Thank you for saying that it's more realistic than the book. And I'm glad you like my little hint. Book Ninja: I like to make you guys giggle sometimes, which is why I include little things like Dr. D being a rapper. If you ever notice discrepancies, let me know.

I spent two and a half solid days trying to get this to you guys so here you are. I didn't steal it and I don't own it.

Derek's point of view

After cleaning up, Simon and I decided to just chill out. He went upstairs and grabbed his DS and I went on the computer and played Age of the Empires. Building the perfect country was a fairly good part of my day. Then I heard Chloe exit Dr. Gill's office and walk down the hall. She stopped outside the Media room, staring in. Simon shifted, obviously wanting to go to her. So, I threw him the perfect out.

"If you're going for a snack, get me a Coke. You know where their hidden." I kept my eyes on the screen, not wanting to spook either of them away from the other.

Simon paused for a moment, deciding. Then he said, "You want a Coke, get it yourself." Well, okay then. He must have thought it was a test. I mean I did tell him not to try anything today. But seeing him walk back and forth in from of the door earlier made me realize he had to make up with her. But if he didn't want to take the out, it's not my fault.

"I didn't ask you to get me one. I said if you were going." If equals your choice, bro.

"I'm not." Well, well. Snippy.

"Then say so already. What's with you tonight?" Why aren't you going?

Chloe left and Simon and I pretended he hadn't just ignored the out.

After I showered and it was time where we had to be in our rooms, Simon was on his bed, pencil in his hand, but too distracted to draw with it. I looked over at him after two whole minutes had gone by and saw him staring at me.

"What?" I asked, annoyed.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. Was thinking about something."

"About what?"

"Chl- Nothing." Nice save.

"What?"

"Well…"

"Simon." I said, annoyed at this roundabout way he was talking.

"I talked to Chloe." Well, finally.

"When?"

"During your shower." Sneaky son of a bitch.

"Did you two make up?"

He looked at me, a small smile on his face. That'd be a yes. Then he frowned, unsure of how to say something.

"Spit it out."

"What?"

"Whatever your about to say, just say it."

"I showed her."

I swore. "Damn it. I was hoping we could wait until another day for that, Simon. I'm all for you guys making up, but…"

"You wanted me to talk to her?"

"Well, yeah. That's why I offered earlier."

"Huh." My brother can be a dumbass.

We sat in the room for a minute, both deep in thought before my curiosity got the best of me.

"So what did she say?"

He smiled. "She didn't believe her eyes."

"What'd you do?"

"I levitated a basketball. She thought it was special effects or something." He got a goofy grin on his face. "I scared her on accident with the ball and I held her hand for a minute."

His smile made me smile, but there was a small part of me that didn't like him holding hands with her. Did I still not trust her enough?

"So what happened?"

"She believed me, but Tori came out right after I showed her. She ran inside before Tori could freak out." He looked uncomfortable. "Tori was pissed when she saw our hands together."

I laughed. I could only imagine the look. Lights out was in ten minutes so we both cleaned up the crap we had out and I went and brushed my teeth. Soon, we were in bed fast asleep.

The next day, Chloe wasn't in class. Simon asked Rae what happened, but she wasn't telling. So, I listened in. It seemed like Chloe was in trouble. She was in Dr. Gill's office, with Mrs. Talbot, Dr. Davidoff, and Dr. Gill. Her aunt was also in there, but she, unlike everyone else in the room, was advocating for Chloe. Chloe had been found in the attic last night, whispering something about ghosts. No one believed she had been dreaming. I would have listened more, but Ms. Wang demanded my attention when things were being decided. By the time she was done with me, and me with all my morning work, I could hear Chloe's little feet walking around the dining room, setting the table.

I decided it was time for a group heart to heart. She obviously believed Simon. So she wouldn't freak out on me anymore. So now, I could explain everything and Simon could help. Or at least be there to keep us from colliding once again. We seemed to argue every time we around one another.

I entered the dining room and she had her back to me. Deciding to try and not scare her, I announced, "I'm behind you."

She spun around, freaked out. She looked at me wide-eyed, then calmed a bit.

"I can't win. You're a skittish as a kitten." Actually, there were more ferocious kittens out there.

"So if you sneak up and announce yourself, that's going to startle me less than if you tapped me on the shoulder?"

This isn't the first time I had been accused of sneaking up on people. I just walked quietly, especially for my size. It was natural for me. "I didn't sneak-" I shook my head. This is why we need Simon there. She and I were too temperamental and too stubborn to talk to each other for any length of time. I grabbed two rolls, hungry as always. I moved a few rolls, concentrating on my movements. Just tell her what I need to tell her and get the hell out of here before we fought again.

"I just wanted to say that if you and Simon want to talk, you don't have to do it behind my back." I had been annoyed when he had told me last night, but it really wouldn't do to have them sneaking around like I was their disapproving parent. "Unless you want to." She might prefer it that way. She was freaked out by me, so who knew?

"We were just-"

I waved it off. "I know what you were doing. Simon already told me." I sighed. "You want answers. I've been trying to give them to you all along. You just have to ask."

"But you said-" I say a lot of things. I get angry and say crap because I'm tired of what is going on.

"Tonight. Eight. Our room. Tell Mrs. Talbot you'll be with me for math tutoring." No matter how good this girl could be at math, I had to be better. Though I didn't particularly think she would be very good. She seemed like the girl who thought she had to be girly and girly girls don't do math. Or at least not girls in the schools we had gone to.

"Your side is off-limits. Is she going to let me go up there, alone with a boy?" The thought of us doing anything the nurses disapproved of made me want to laugh. No one would believe she would even be tempted.

"Just tell her it's for math. She won't question it."

She looked uncertain still. "Will that be… okay? You and I aren't supposed to-"

"Tell her Simon will be there. And talk to Talbot, not Van Dop." Van Dop and I had a mutual dislike. She nodded and I went and found Simon and told him.

He smiled, happy that we would tell her. I was proud of myself for getting through a conversation with her. And so, tonight, we would meet.

I just chilled out for the rest of the day. I was in the media room, reading a book, when I heard Chloe and Rae in the basement.

"That door?" Rae said, too loudly. Her voice quickly got quieter as she realized she shouted, but it had drawn my attention. "The locked basement door?"

So they were discussing the door in the basement that Chloe's ghost wanted open more than anything else in the world. This could be interesting.

"Yes, cliché, I know. Whoooo, don't go into the locked room, room little girl." I smiled at her interpretation of a ghost. "I thought maybe, we could, you know, check it out. Like open it."

"Duh, of course. I'd have done that days ago." A handle jiggled. "How can you live with the suspense?" Because Chloe is a certified nice girl. One who thinks locks are for a reason. She would go nicely with Simon, the nice guy. Like Barbie and Ken, except both would have actual human anatomy.

Boy brain started to imagine Chloe's anatomy for a second before Chloe's voice made us remember that we were listening to something important.

"For starters, I'm pretty sure there's nothing in there."

"Then why's it locked?" Typical Rae. Always looking for trouble where there was none.

"Because it's for storing stuff they don't want us messing around with. Lawn furniture. Winter bedding. Christmas decorations." Well, Chloe could be very level headed about things. When I wasn't around. I'd have to figure out how to use that to an advantage if the need ever arose. Maybe in getting Simon out…

"The bodies of Lyle House kids who never went home…" Rae continued Chloe's list, letting her imagination run rampant.

There was a solid pause.

"Geez, I'm kidding. You are such a girl." Chloe was so skittish. How would anyone ever joke with her?

"No, I've just seen too many movies." That probably didn't help her inability to function without jumping at every noise.

"That, too. Another crappy lock, so easy a six-year-old with a credit card could pick it." Rae was a weird girl. Where did that particular skill become necessary?

"Not many six year olds have credit cards."

"I bet Tori did. That's what this house is made for. "Rich kids whose only use for a credit card is buying a new pair of Timbs. They stick cheap locks on the doors, knowing you guys will turn the handle and say, 'huh, locked,' and walk away." Cynical. Very cynical. But if she got the door open, she at least knew what she was doing.

"That's-" Chloe stopped, unsure of how to continue.

"Unfair? Uh, that's exactly what you did girl." Hmm, this conversation was making me like Rae a bit more than I had. She wasn't just a bimbo. "It's not perfect." I heard a jiggling and she continued, "But maybe it'll-" Jiggling. "Fuck. Or maybe it-" The noise of ripping reached me, wondering what the hell she had tried to open the door with. "Wont. God-fucking-Dammit. Son of a motherfucking bitch." She sighed. "Shit."

"There's a piece caught… Here, let me."

More ripping, then Rae said, "Got the feeling someone doesn't want us going in there?" Well, duh. The lock tells you that.

Chloe gave a small, half-hearted laugh.

"We're going to need the key. It might be on the ring with the one for the shed in the kitchen." Except I knew that wasn't the one. The one they were looking for was hidden behind the fridge. I had found it during the first week when I had been scoping the place out. I knew it was for the basement, but after opening it and finding a closet with a crawl space, I just put the damn key back.

I had forgotten all about the key until now. Maybe Chloe would have listened if I had told her I'd get it for her. But then a scared girl like her would have wanted a buddy, and I am so not a comforting person.

"I'll get it." She said and came upstairs.

I decided to help her out so I went into the kitchen to get a snack. A minute after I got in there, Chloe entered, hardly making any noise. She paused for a second when she entered, then slowly started walking behind me. When I realized she was going to try and scare me, I said, "The key you want isn't on that ring." She froze, startled because I hadn't even seen her. You just can't compete with super hearing.

I nonchalantly picked an apple, bit into it, and walked to the fridge. Chloe's eyes watched me as I did so, confused. "Try these" I said, digging out a set of keys from behind it. I gave them to her and seeing the look on her face, the one that clearly said, "How do you know?" I decided to come up with a lie. "I have no idea what you guys are doing down there, but next time you want to secretly open a locked door, don't whale on it hard enough to bring the house down." I left, smirking to myself. The look on her face was priceless. Shocked and freaked and wondering how the hell I did that. Wouldn't you like to know, Chloe. Oh, wouldn't you like to know?


	15. Mirror

Hello, my dears. It feels good to be writing again. Guess what is coming up soon? That's right. Some Tori-goes-psycho chapter with some Derek and Chloe epicness! Btw... before I forget, PLEASE DO NOT COMMENT WITH NO NAME. MAKE UP AN ALIAS SO I MAY ADDRESS YOU IN MY WRITING. Thank you :). So I'm glad your all still with me. I think I have about 200 people who actively read this and that is just amazing in my book. So I'm thinking about trying to make a Lemon one shot, but I am unsure. I probably should wait until I am done with this so I do not mix the undertones for each story. Agree? Disagree? As always, Read and review.

Sweetdreams: I think you know :). And below, she finds out. Win-win. BookNinja: You have said it before but it makes me all warm inside everytime. I'm glad I impress you. Conceited Pixie: Welcome and Yay, Bananas!No worries on the honey thing. I always call people My dear and darling and stuff like that and I'm from Michigan. Actually, a lot of people in Michigan say that to complete strangers. Especially because I'm really really short they always say it. Ooh Im glad I influence you. That's a really sweet thing to say! And we're getting to fun chapter very soon. Not-so-innocent-011: Welcome! Yay! I'm better than Tylenol. Kelley Miley: That is my favorite line of the chapter, too! Yeah, Derek is starting to like her, but he's too... Derek to notice. I love you all, especially the ones who comment every chapter (such as yourself), I love all my chapters, I love my derek and I love ice cream a lot, too! And thank you. I'm reallllllly glad it's working because I missed you guys! InnocentMonster: Welcome! I'm glad you love my story! : I'm glad you love it. Buttttt... I feel weird with no name to call you so make up a name. Anything will do :). Aliases are a look into the soul.\\

Btw, because I do not own Darkest Powers, I'm just guessing what Derek has down there. That's right. In this chapter, it is addressed. Makes you excited, No? Lol Go ahead. Read it!

Derek's point of view

I was doing homework in Simon's and my room, when I heard a light knock that brought me out of the world of advanced bio-chemistry. I looked up and Chloe was looking at the room, noticing the differences here. Simon's side of the room was plastered with his drawings, mostly of his comics. He was always drawing, so, in only a few months, he had nearly filled the walls. My side was bare in comparison, with only my books and projects on surfaces.

"Hey," Simon sat up. "I was just going to tell Derek we should go downstairs, make sure the nurses weren't giving you a hassle. They didn't, did they?"

Ah, Simon. Such a white knight. He looked willing to go down there and fight them even after they let her up here.

Chloe shook her head.

I put my book on the table, making sure we had our alibi set for if nurses came upstairs. I put my binder over it. "I'll be in the shower. Start without me." I took a shower at eight every night. Besides, Simon should ease her into it. I'm not good at easing. He would appreciate the alone time anyways.

"Won't the nurses hear the water running?" A good question, but…

I shrugged and tried to tuck my hair behind my ear as she regarded me. That's why I had to take one now. I looked just plain gross if I didn't. "Tell them I was already in there. I'll only be a few minutes.

I edged far around her, walking to the bathroom. She watched me go. "Why don't you just shower in the morning?" Sure, it seemed easy to say that, but it never would work.

"I do." I slipped out the door. I needed to shower twice a day.

A minute passed as I walked into the bathroom, and then I heard, "Come on in. I don't bite." The bed squeaked and he patted the bed. I closed the bathroom door, smiling at the awkwardness.

"I'd say this is the first time I've had a girl in my bed… if I didn't mind sounding like a total loser."

I turned on the water, letting it heat up. Chloe had to be blushing up a storm. The water blocked out the sound of their voices in the other room.

I looked into the mirror and saw what she had been staring at as I walked out of the room. My hair was oily and had turned stringy and gross. It hung around my face.

My face. It was red and bumpy from the pimples. It had a sheen on it that explained the acne. Only two years ago, I had been pimple free. I had clear skin and clean hair and every so often a girl would look at me like I was cute. Now, girls only looked freaked out or grossed out.

I took off my clothes, watching the steam start to float over the top of the shower curtain. My chest was massive, way bigger than it should be until I'm maybe 21. At sixteen, it worried people that I was this big. I had muscles and an adult body. My chest had some little red pimples across it, but besides that, it wasn't too bad. Except for when I was trying not to freak people out. Which would be every day of my life. I wore big, baggy clothes in order to hide it, but I was a little happy I had it. It was the body every teenage boy wanted. I was tall and muscular and just big. I had wished to be that way since I was 8.

Now, I hide it so girls like Chloe don't get scared. What a world.

The rest of my body was proportional, thank god. My hands weren't tiny girl hands. My ears didn't stick out. Down below, well… let's just say I'm a bit bigger than most guys and leave it at that.

The main problem with me was the amount I sweated and the oil. My body was in hyper drive and it sucked. I took one last look at myself and told myself, "It doesn't matter if that's what Chloe was looking at. You try your best." But some part of me was still upset, for what reason, I don't know. I guess nobody wants to be the kid who looks gross. Not even someone who doesn't care unless Simon and Dad mind.

I stepped into the shower, letting the hot water pummel me. I like my showers so hot that you feel like your skin is being burned off the bone. I used soap and washed my hair twice. After about five minutes, I turned off the water, squeaky clean. The air was warm from the steam and the mirror was fogged up. I took a towel and dried off. I put on the clothes I had put in here earlier and dropped my dirty clothes into the basket.

I could hear Chloe say, "He just got out. He can't hear-"

"Oh yes, he can."

Chloe didn't argue. She didn't ask, "How?" She just changed the subject. "Okay, so we've got sorcerers, witches, half-demons, necromancers, shamans, and other really rare types, like Derek." I winced. God damn it, Simon. What did you tell her? "That's it right? I'm not gong to run into and werewolves or vampires, am I?" Whew. He didn't tell her all the truth. Probably some enhanced abilities or something.

He laughed and said, "That'd be cool." I smiled. He handled the question well. Simon hates lying, but it wasn't really a lie. Just a statement.

There was a pause. I could practically hear Chloe gathering her questions together and deciding which were the most important. "So there are three of us? In one place? That has to mean something." Wow. I'm impressed. She understood the thing that had made me question her so much. Three in one. It was rare. I walked down the hall as Simon answered.

"Derek thinks it's because some supernatural powers- like yours and his- can't be explained, so humans chalk the up to mental illness. Some kids in homes could be supernatural Most aren't. You have to talk to him about that. He explains stuff better." Damn skippy, I do. When I get the chance.

Okay, back to me, then. What do these ghosts want?"

"Help, I guess."

"With what? Why me?" She asked as I reached the room, towel-drying my hair.

"Because you can hear them," I said, entering. "Not much sense in talking to someone who can't hear you." Duh.

"Well, duh."

"I wasn't going to say it." Just think it. Really, really sarcastically.

I folded my towel on the chair, my back to Chloe, sure that she was giving me a death glare. These little chats were becoming all too common if I just knew what she was doing without my enhanced abilities and without looking.

"How many necromancers do you think are walking around out there?"

"How would I know?" Not exactly a real answer. Not at all actually.

"Well, if the answer was 'a whole lot," don't you think you'd have heard of them?" I said, annoyed she hadn't even guessed.

"Ease up, bro." Simon murmured.

I mentally nodded. This is why he was here. Keep me from being too-in-your-face. "We're talking hundreds in the whole country." I combed my hair, trying to come up with an easy-to-understand example. "Have you ever met an albino?"

"No." She said, wondering where I was going with this.

"Statistically speaking, you're about three times more likely to bump into an albino than a necromancer." True fact. I liked little tidy numbers like that. "So imagine you're a ghost. If you see a necro, it's like being stranded on a desert island, then spotting a plane overhead. Are you gong to try and get their attention? Of course. As for what they want?" I grabbed my desk chair and sat on it backwards, straddling the seat. "Who knows? If you were a ghost and bumped into the one living being who could hear you, I'm sure you'd want _something_ from her. To know what they want, you're going to need to ask them."

"Easier said than done." She muttered, then informed us of the basement ghost. I had know it had existed, but not that she couldn't hear it.

I listened and considered her words. "There could still be something back there. Something you didn't find. Something important to him." I scratched my cheek and winced when I went over a tender spot. My whole face could be a tender spot when I scratched. I put my hand back at my side, ignoring the itch. "Maybe a paper or object he'd like you to pass on to his family."

"Or clues to his murder. Or buried treasure." Simon said, letting his imagination run away with him.

I gave him a look for a few seconds before I thought, "Why bother?" Then I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "Moving right along… it's probably something stupid like a letter he forgot to give to his wife. Meaningless," I said.

Chloe's face had a look that clearly said, "That's not meaningless." I considered it as she gave me that look and agreed. Not meaningless to them. To me, maybe. But definitely not for them.

"Whatever it is, the point is moot because as long as I'm on these pills, I can't make contact to ask."

I could feel the tender spot start to bleed. I swiped at it and said, annoyed, "Then you need to stop taking the pills.

"Love to," She said, sarcastic to my snapped words. "If I could. But after what happened last night, they're giving me urine tests now."

"Ugh. That's harsh." A moment passes then Simon continued, snapping his fingers excitedly. "Hey, I've got an idea. It's kind of gross, but what if you take the pills, crush them and mix them with your, you know, urine."

The fact that that was not right went off as an alarm bell in my head. I gave him a look. I know he went to school. He's not stupid. And yet… Those words just came out of his mouth.

"What?" He said, defensively.

"You did pass chem last year, didn't you?"

He gave me the finger, not mad, but still considering my words warranted it. "Okay, genius, what's your idea?"

"I'll think about it." I said, thinking hard. "We should get her off those meds. I don't really care what that ghost wants, but he could be useful. As long as we have a willing subject, Chloe should take advantage of it, so she can learn." An idea crossed my mind. Time to test how much it would bother him if she left. "It's not like she's going anywhere soon…. Unless the ship her off."

He glared at me, and if looks could kill… well, Simon would be alone here. "Not funny bro." Time to go further.

"Not trying to be funny. Seeing ghosts isn't easy to hide. It's not like casting spells. After this morning, with Dr. Davidoff and Gill, I caught some of their conversation later-" I looked at Chloe, remembering she didn't know. "I was walking by and heard-"

"She knows about your hearing, bro." I scowled. I told him a million times, "DO. NOT. TELL. HER. ANYTHING." He shrugged. "She figured it out. She's not stupid."  
Liar. "Anyway, you overheard…."

My head snapped up as I heard a pair of feet walk close to the stairs. Too close to have any other destination. "Someone's coming."

"Boys? Chloe? Snack time. Come on down." She stayed at the bottom of the stairs.

Simon assured her we were on the way and Chloe said, "Just a sec. You heard the doctors talking. What about?"

I over-exaggerated the truth as I said, "You. And whether Lyle House is the right place for you."

Really, the two had been referencing how the aunt wanted me out so badly, but still. They had said something sort of like it.

Her eye's widened, uncertainty crossing her face quickly. I felt bad, but I could see she was afraid to go anywhere else. This plan may work. It just may work.


	16. Pressure

Hi, everyone. To those of you who thought I didn't post last night, you missed my one-shot dream Derek has in the night. Be warned, it's still T for teen, but is a little dirtier than we've visited yet. I figured all my readers who want this a little dirtier get a bit of a peek into Derek's subconscious. Guess what next chapter is? That's right. Tori is a psycho and locks Chloe in the basement. Who's waiting for that one? I know I am. Read, review, and beg me for the next chapter ;).

Book ninja: Next chapter is the one you are waiting for, my dear. So tomorrow or saturday by the latest, you'll have it posted up. And I'm glad you read my notes to you. I'd be depressed if you didn't. I spend a lot of time responding to my commenters. So thank you for commenting and being here through it all. AlwaysReading: I hope to god you didn't tell him what was so funny. I'm glad you liked it though. I thought since the clothes were off, you guys would feel ripped off if I didn't address the... issue... lol KakiTenshi: Welcome! and Gah. Are you saying you don't like my Derek, or Derek in the book, or both? Any is fine, but if you are having issues, please let me know. It's important that you like Derek. It kinda ruins the fun in reading the story if you think he's a bonafide asshole. So any problems, let me know. Sweet Dreamz: I'm glad you like hearing what's on his mind. Hope this doesn't ruin his image of mystery for you :).Kelley Miley: I'm so glad too. Every guy wants a body like dereks, but for Derek, it's not working so hot. So it's great that he starts to stop having a body that spazzes out hormonally. Thank you for saying he's more amazing than he already was. I'm glad I gave you a guy you would like, even before Chloe likes him. Thanks for always reviewing. Make a fanfic! Spreading your own ideas and stories is very stress relieving and makes you smile for every single time someone comments. I'm so glad I'm one of the ones giving you inspiration to start one. If you do make one, let me know and I will be glad to go read it. In fact, I should tell people up in the top paragraph that too. So if you do, let me know. Hope you like the chapter :). Conceited Pixie: I kinda think he's the kind who can look at certain people and say, "Oh, they'll do this, they'll do that if I do this." He's too smart for his own good. I do think he scheme's but I think it's not letting the chips fall, but more saying, "I'll do this, she'll have to do that." Tricky, tricky Derek. Thank you for noticing the fact that there was soooo little for me to be able to fit him in here. So I thought I'd put in a look at Derek and how he feels about himself. From what I see you, and my other reviewers, agree this was a good way to go. So thank you. In case you don't read the first paragraph and only read the things I write to you, I did write a dream he has about Chloe. It's still T rated but I'm sure you'll enjoy it :). I may write some more dreams into the book, but I am not sure yet. Bertle: Welcome! And thank you! I'm glad you enjoy it. I try to update every day, but I should have one up every two or three days at most. Most of the time, it is only one day though. You can sign up for an account to make it easier though. You don't have to write anythign if you don't want. It can just keep track of any stories you like. IT was really easy for me to sign up when it struck my fancy so the option is there if you should so choose :). Just letting you know.

CHECK OUT DEREK"S FORGOTTEN DREAM, THE ONLY OTHER STORY I HAVE, IF YOU HAVE BEEN WANTING SOME MORE... HORNY DEREK ACTION. STILL RATED T AND IS NOT A LEMON, BUT READ IT ANYWAYS :).

Derek's point of view.

The next day I became extremely proud of myself when the perfect idea came to mind. Chloe should save her pee. Gross? Well, yeah, but it would work. We were looking for results and this was the only way I could see.

After class, I motioned for Chloe to follow me and gave her a Mason jar that I had found in the kitchen during break.

"Here. Take this up to your room and hide it." I pressed the jar in her hand and willed her to just listen and go.

No such luck.

"It's a... jar."

Oh, for fuck's sake. "It's for your urine." Why else would I give you an fucking jar? So you can collect your extra change?

"My what?"

I was a little uncomfortable with elaborating, but I leaned forward and said, "Urine. Pee. Whatever. For the testing."

She lifted the jar, peering through it like a kid would. "I think they'll give me something smaller."

I growled under my breath. Really? Is she completely stupid? I heard a pair of footsteps in the kitchen and I looked around. I went to grab Chloe's arm and thought better of it at the last second. I motioned for her to follow me. I turned and went up the stairs to the landing. I looked back and she was still standing where she had been, just staring at me up the stairs. She walked up the stairs slowly and I mentally said, "Hurry the hell up!" When she came close to me, I whispered, "You took your meds today right?"

She just nodded, still lost.

"Then use this jar to save it."

"Save?" The urge to hit my head against a wall returned. Why was she being so dense? Was it so against her nature to do anything icky. Girly girls really annoy me.

"Your urine." I said, trying to be completely and totally explicit in order to make her stop saying, "Huh?" and stop her from looking like a total moron. "If you give them some of today's tomorrow, it'll seem like your taking your meds."

"You want me to... dole it out? Into specimen jars?" Uh, duh. The wall was practically calling to my head. I was so frustrated around this girl. She was too confusing and confused. One minute, she seemed normal and capable, the next, she can't grip simple concepts.

"Got a better idea?"

"Um, no, but..." She lifted the jar again and peered through it. I could see a look of disgust on her little face.

"Oh, for God's sake. Save your piss. Don't save your piss. It's all the same to me." I was fed up. If she didn't want to do it, why bother with this conversation any longer.

"I was going to ask what you guys were doing, but hearing that, I think I'll pass." I turned to see Simon at the base of the stairs, peering up. Damnit. I was so engrossed in trying not to slam my head into inanimate objects, I hadn't listen for people approaching. It could have been Mrs. Talbot over hearing our conversation. Shit. I hurried up and hurried Chloe away. When Simon gave me a curious look, I just said, "You don't even want to know."

Later on, Ms. Wang had a serious case of being stir crazy, so she let us out early for lunch. When Simon, Chloe, and I filed out of the room, Chloe looked like she wanted some answers. Simon suggested going outside and talking.

"Van Dop is gardening today." I said, listening for Talbot.

"I need to do some laundry," Chloe offered.

"Okay, then I'll come down and help." Simon was allowed to go downstairs with her. I would not be.

"I'll sneak down later then." That gave me enough time to grab a pre-lunch snack. They both headed down and I went into the kitchen. I had to get them to leave. Simon had to find our dad. Every day that passed was another that we could lose him forever. He hadn't come to get us yet. Simon wouldn't leave without me. I wouldn't leave until I knew I could control myself and the incident with Chloe proved that I couldn't do that. Simon had to go. I couldn't. Chloe was the only thing I had been able to think that may even slightly get him to leave. The way he looked at her... He would leave if he thought they had to. Dad needed to be a bonus though.

And I knew how to do it. Chloe had been asking about Liz. She was suspicious about where she was and why she couldn't call her. She thought there was something awry. If she thought something weird happened when Liz was transferred, she would be scared as hell to be transferred herself. I just had to use that to my advantage.

I grabbed an apple and started to munch.

Would she run away? If she thought it would be dangerous to stay, maybe. If Simon thought it was dangerous to stay, he would try and make her leave. He was predictably knightish. I finished the apple and threw away the core. Time to add a little pressure to their lovey-dovey world.

I came down the stairs as Simon said, "You don't need to tell me there might not be a ghost here, and I'm not going to make you try and contact it. When Derek comes down, he might. Don't let him push you around."

Oh, for God's sake. "I don't push her anywhere." I don't threaten her, I don't intimidate, I don't even beg. I just tell people what I think would be best to do. I turned down the staircase. "If I tell someone to do something and they do it? That's not my problem." I'm usually right, anyways. So, then, I'm just the guy who knew what to do. "All she has to do is say no. Her tongue works, doesn't it?"

I folded my arms and looked down at Chloe who gave me a vaguely annoyed look. Whether it was for my words or my intrusion on their alone time, I don't really know. I'm willing to bet, however, that it would be the latter.

"So if they decide to transfer you, what are you going to do about it?"

Simon smashed a t-shirt in his hands and said, "For God's sake, Derek, they're not-"

I didn't let him finish. Pressure on. "They're thinking about it. She needs a plan."

"Does she?" He threw the shirt angrily into the right pile of clothes. "What about you, bro? If word comes down that you're next to go, do you have a plan?"

We gave each other the look that argued for us. His said, "I am not leaving unless you do and you're way too damn stubborn." Mine said, "I can't. I won't. Make me."

Chloe tried to break the tension by standing and grabbing the load of colors. "If they do, I don't see that I have a lot of options. I can't exactly refuse."

Damn. She was going to squirm out. "So you'll just give in? Go along like a good little girl?" I asked angrily.

"Ease up, bro." Okay, okay. I'm chilling out.

I grabbed the laundry she missed, thinking how to word my next point. I threw them in the washer with the ones she was putting in. "They won't let you talk to Liz, will they?"

"Huh- what?" She turned and gave me wide eyes, telling me I struck a cord.

"Tori asked this morning. I heard. Talbot told her no and said she'd told you the same thing when you asked last night." I looked at the washer. The water was just water. There was no soap in it. She stared at the soap box, looking very confused. I sighed. My clothes would be gross if I didn't help her. I grabbed the soap out of her hands and grabbed the measuring cup from the shelf. "This helps." I said, waving it back and forth in front of her so she would remember.

"They said I can call Liz on the weekend."

"Still, seems a little odd. You barely knew the girl, and you're the first one wanting to call her?"

"It's called being considerate. Maybe you've heard of it?" Testy, testy. It would seem more so if she wasn't pulling at the knobs in frustration.

I pushed her hands away from the knobs and showed her what I was doing. "Darks, cold" I said, spinning the dial to the left. "Or you'll end up with the dye bleeding." I started the machine. "See, I'm considerate."

She scoffed. I raised an eyebrow as she said, "Sure, when it's mostly _your_ stuff in there." She was very observant. That's not a good thing. When Simon snorted and she turned her head away, I allowed a half-smile to creep across my face. Very observant.

"As for Liz," she said, rounding back to look at me. "I just wanted to be sure she was okay." What an odd thing to say. She seemed upset.

"Why wouldn't she be?" I asked, curiously.

Then she told us. She told us about the night that I had been looking through her file. How Liz had gotten upset and something she couldn't explain happened. How things moved and broke and how Liz had no idea how to stop it. Simon and I exchanged glances. What the fuck?

She told us how she woke later on to find Liz on the bed, chattering about some socks her brother got her.

"So..." I said slowly. "Liz returned from the dead to show you her really cool socks?" It seemed like quite a stretch, but ghosts didn't always know their status yet.

Chloe ignored me, but continued on. She told us about Liz saying she had had a dream that sounded suspiciously like she was killed. Then she continued it by telling us how she had seen her in the attic.

There was a long pause as all of were silent, trying to figure out a good reason for all of it.

"That sure sounds like a ghost." Simon said. I looked over at him. He stared at the floor, eyes glazed over as he was thinking.

"Just because she's a ghost doesn't mean she was murdered. She could have had a completely unrelated accident on the way to the hospital." I said, more thinking through the facts than trying to convince them. "If that happened, they wouldn't want to tell us right away."

"Or maybe she's not dead at all." Chloe piped in. "Could she be astral projecting? Shamans do that, right? It might also explain how she was moving stuff around. It wasn't a poltergeist spirit- it was _her_ spirit or however it works. You said our powers kick in around puberty, right? If we don't know when that happens, this is just the kind of place we'd end up. A home for teens with weird problems. The words sounded so good, so much easier to believe than Liz is dead. But four out of seven? Those were slim odds.

I shrugged, not wanting to dismiss it. It could be the right answer.

"Would being a shaman explain what she's doing? Throwing stuff around? Could she have been popping out of her body without knowing it?"

"I..." I tried to think of a definitive answer. "Dont know. Let me think about it." We all went upstairs, trying to ignore the possible image of dead Liz in our heads.


	17. Calm

Hi, guys. Just got this finished. I know you want this chapter really badly so I decided to update earlier so I get to get my reviews from the people who aren't nightowls and my nightowls (Don't worry. I'm a total night owl, too. You may have noticed by the fact that you get notices at like three in the morning. :) ). I couldn't wait to write this and I can't wait for you to read this so I'm going to end this portion, respond to you guys, and update before nine thirty hopefully :)

BookNinja: You make me smile. You're almost always the first one who reviews. You must be ready for me to update every night. Yeah, a lot of work goes into it, but you guys enjoy it so much that it's totally worth it. HawianGirl: Yep, he does smile. He just can't help it. Here is your quick updat emy dear. Kelley Miley: Awwww... you go to the library to read my fanfic? I'm sure it's for other reasons too, but STILL. It certainly makes me feel special. Actually my parents are divorced so I live in two places, one is macomb and one is eastpoint. That's the most I'll say on the internet. Detroit is a really big place so saying three blocks away is kinda really vague lol. Bertle: Short or long reviews, as long as people review I'm happy. TBH, I only respond to the long ones or the ones who say something that I feel need a response. It's hard for me to respond to ones who just beg for updates. Updating is my response :) I try to update everyday. It's something I enjoy and I know you guys do too. I do plan on doing all the books, but I may need to take a small break after I finish the first. Only two weeks or so tops. KakiTenshi: Whew. You scared me. I thought you hated him. I was like :O. About the dream, I'm a little frightened. You seem very adamant about me writing a lemon. Sorry for ending it so... suddenly. I thought it was a good place to leave you wanting more. I may write more dreams as we go on, but they'll be different. Sorry. And you'll prolly have to wait awhile. But stay with me! K? Conceited Pixie: I saw that actually. I posted it and went to check the dream and then I saw your name. I was like whoops. :) If citrusy isn't a word (My writing program says it isn't :( ), too bad cause I use it too. I'm glad you read my responses to everyone. I take like a half hour responding lol. At least I know someone reads everything I put lol.

Derek's point of view

When our afternoon break was over, Mrs. Talbot told us that class was over for the day. She told the others that they were going to an indoor community pool that was close by. I wasn't allowed outside, something suggested by Dr. Gill and vehemently agreed upon by me. Simon was always angry when I didn't go, but it was for the best.

Chloe didn't look like she was going either. She didn't bring a bathing suit to the madhouse and didn't want to bother her aunt to make her come bring her one either. So the rest were going and I left while they were still deciding what to do with Chloe. I entered Dr. Gill's office and for the next hour I was in my own little world, talking about how I felt, my worries with my dad still missing (I did not, however, tell her about my urging Simon to go find him), my anger with myself for losing it with Chloe, how I felt about not going on trips, my childhood, ect. Not that I gave her real answers for my childhood. No one had to know what really happened.

I was in there for my hour, then I was allowed to go up to my room and zone out for a while. Instead, I went to the computer and started up the game from the other night. I was totally into it when I heard Chloe's voice from the basement.

"Stop that!" It was muffled and sounded like her voice was shot to hell. She sounded scared. That's what ripped me from my game. The sound of Chloe scared out of her mind. I got up from the computer, listening intently. Something growled. It hadn't been Chloe. I started to quickly walk to the basement, trying to avoid any of the nurses. I started hearing a clickity-clack sound and walked even faster.

I heard Chloe's whimper as I went into the kitchen. And then the sound of something very, very inhuman saying, "Help. Help. Help. Help." Fuck. FUCK.

I ran to the doorway of the basement, not caring who the hell followed me. Chloe was in the basement with a corpse. Fuck.

As I passed through the doorway, I heard Chloe start to slam her fists against a door. She screamed, muffled by a gag or something. I ran down the stairs, faster than I ever thought possible.

I ran into the basement as she stopped screaming. There was still the inhuman voice, chanting for help, but her screams had stopped. I ran to the door, the one I knew she would be behind. It was locked. Fuck. I was getting ready to start breaking down the door when saw the keys on the shelf next to the door. Who the fuck had locked her in there?

Then an image of Tori walking past the media room earlier came to me. That fucking bitch.

I grabbed the keys and was trying to fit the key into the lock when I heard Chloe scream like she was being burned with an iron. My hands fumbled and lost the right key. I fit it back into the lock and burst through the door. The crawlspace door was locked with a bolt in the right-hand corner and I slid it out and pulled the little door open. There were shapes moving in the dim light, big enough to be adults, but the smells didn't lie. They were nothing but corpses.

Chloe was crawling fast to the corner of the room near the door. She couldn't see me. Her eyes were closed and tears were still streaking down her dirty face. "Chloe! Stop." I said, pulling my body through the small doorway. I reached for her "It's-" Her foot slammed into my stomach.

It hurt a lot more than you would think from a tiny girl, but she was so scared that this had become life or death for her. I sucked in my breath and cried out, "Fuck." Then I said, "Chloe!" as I reached for her. I had to snap her out of panic-mode. She had to put them to rest. She couldn't do that this freaked out. She was holding herself up crab-walking style and I grabbed her arm that was closest to me. She swung her arm, aiming for my neck. This time, though, I was waiting for it.  
I grabbed the arm and pulled her, making her topple onto her side. "Chloe, it's me, Derek." I said, trying to find her reason beneath all that panic.

She looked up at me, so relieved that it made me want to kill Tori. She fell into my arms, sagging from the fear. I raised my hands to the back of her head and pulled off the gag that had been tied onto her. Partly to keep myself from hugging her, partly because part of me was focused on the next step. She shook in my arms, making me to have to try twice to find the right knot. As I pulled it, I identified one of the many smells in the room. Chloe had pissed herself in fear.

I felt bad, but we had to put these guys to rest. I would never bring up the fact to her, ever. That's all I could really do in this situation.

"Th-Th-There's-" She tried saying when the gag loosened.

I had to be calm, the voice of reason. "Dead people, I know. They must have been buried down here. You accidentally raised them." Just explain it calmly. Don't freak out. Do. Not. Yell.

"R-r-raised-" Jesus. Now, I agree with what she said the other day in the basement. Necromancer just wasn't 'her.' She was too fear-stricken to even believe she had done this.

"Later. Right now, you need to-" The thumping sound distracted me, making me peer into the crawlspace. My werewolf eyes had now adjusted to the dark and I could see way too many details about the half-decayed skeletons. I looked at Chloe who was turned, looking into the darkness, eye's wide with fear.

"Chloe, focus!" I said, grabbing her forearms, bringing her close where she couldn't see the forms edging closer. "They won't hurt you. They aren't brain-eating movie zombies, okay?" I said, remembering her love of cinema. "They're just dead bodies with their spirits returned to them."

Her eyes grew wide as she considered that for a few moments. She was still afraid, but no longer for her life.

"I-I-I need to send them back."

I was relieved that she had said that. I looked at the bodies nearing. "Yeah, that'd be the general idea." The zombies were grotesque. I wasn't sure if I'd ever get their faces, their bodies out of my mind, let alone the haunted calls for help.

Chloe rubbed her hands over her face, calming herself down remarkably fast. "O-okay, so how do I send them back?"

Fuck. That was a great fucking question.

She looked up at me, eyes begging me to say something. "Derek?"

"I... I don't know." I felt so lost with those words. I need to know. One of us needed to be strong and I was the only one that could do it at the moment. I shook my head, rolled my shoulders, forcing myself to think. "You summoned them, Chloe. Whatever you did, undo it. Reverse it."

"I didn't do-"

"Just _try_." I urged, unable to allow her to waste time.

She closed her eyes, effort clear on her face. The tears were gone, with new dirt covering them and she almost looked strong in that moment.

A corpse that was close by called out, "Help," forcing me to look behind her. Fuck. It was almost on top of us. I looked back at Chloe's face and saw that she had heard the voice and had recognized it as much too close. Fuck. Shit. Okay...

"Keep your eyes closed, Chloe." If she could see any of what I could, she would be done. As in mentally, just done. She would be transferred to somewhere for actual crazy people. "Just remember, they won't hurt you." I watched the corpse reach us and saw it's hand reach for her arm. As it touched her skin, she jumped.

"It's okay, Chloe. I'm right here." I was not the soothing type, but, son of a bitch, if I didn't keep her calm, the supernatural world would find out about her. Maybe the normal one, too. That really wouldn't matter if we both lost our minds down here. "Keep going," I urged.

I closed my eyes with her, focusing on breathing. In and out. Calm. I had to be calm so she was calm. I opened my eyes. The corpses were starting to lay down, the souls being plucked away. "You're doing fine. Keep going."

Finally, I could almost feel the tension in the air release as the bodies all were emptied, just shells of the people once more.

Her eyes were still shut, focused on putting them back to rest. Her tiny face was so deep in concentration, I had to repeat myself twice before she opened her eyes, looking into mine. "They're gone, Chloe."

She refused to look, but still twisted sideways, allowing the corpse to fall at our feet.

Fuck. Only now was I starting to allow myself to freak out. I ran my fingers through my hair. Shit. Fuck. Motherfucking Cock-sucking Whore. Okay. Time to finish this. I looked at Chloe, staring at the body. "Are you okay?"

She stared at the corpse a moment more, then looked at me. "I'll live." From the look on her face, I didn't doubt it. She was scared, but already she was moving past it.

I took a deep breath then said, "Guess we got work to do," as I looked down at the soul-less body at our feet.


	18. Accuse

Hey, guys. Here is my disclaimer. There is a hint for something that the less experienced of us may not get. (I wouldn't have gotten it until a little after my eighteenth b-day) So if you don't get it, ignore it. Or, if you really, really would like to understand it, PM me and I will explain it in the least graphic way I can for you. Oh, the part I am speaking of is talking about the wet mark on her jeans. So ignore that if you don't get it, K? PLEASE DO NOT SEARCH THE INTERNET AS I"M SURE YOU WILL BE DISTURBED BY THE CREEPS WHO TRY TO EXPLAIN IT TO YOU. That's about it. Hope you enjoy this new chapter.

Ivory breath: I say awesome sauce all the time. ALL THE TIME! Lol just thought I should point that out. Meridan Capulet: Thanks for liking my spin on it. I have a question though. You put TS. Should I know what that means? What does that mean? I even looked that shit up! Google had no idea either. Lol Something Something: Oooh. A challenge. I hope you like my interpretation. If you don't let me know. DoarfthXx: Listen. I swear like a sailor. Like so much so that teenagers look at me and say woah tone it down buddy. So my Derek, who swears sometimes on the outside, will probably swear a lot on the inside. Just thought you should know lol. And yeah that's one of my favorite things to say :). Trikett: Welcome! And yeah I have no freetime but I still try to fit my writing in as well. Thank you for all the nice things :). KakiTenshi: Lol it's okay. Everybody needs a good lemon to read and so many are unreadable on here that I totally understand. Alternative Music Girl: i've pretty much decided that you guys don't care if I put every letter or X in it's place so don't be upset if it's missing some X's. Anyhooo, I'm glad that was your favorite chapter. I know you guys were waiting a while for it. Tell me if you like the next one or not, okay? Bookninja: It does actually make you sound old saying pottymouth lol but I like outdated terms so It's okay. Bertle: You know, I never thought of it as him being so much Logic, but yeah, he is. Never saw it before. Lol Next chapter is the corner in the bathroom kind of thing. Yay! Conceited Pixie: No, actually, it's not. Derek is logical and I give him a few aspects from myself, but as a whole I just imagine what he would feel. I'm kinda really good at empathy (this means that I have cried at commercials. And not only the Sarah McClauclen (Spelled wrong but ehhh...) commercials where they show tortured puppies. I cried at a commercial for a medication once. No lie) I also have been told I think like a guy by many people (If your a chick who thinks dirty, you think like a guy, or your a whore (That's what guys have said to me.)) So nah, not hard, but I'm a freak of nature. I'll try really hard not to break your heart *Dries Cheek * :)

Derek's point of view

When everything was back into it's holes, I looked at Chloe, who was staring at the wall, staring but not seeing anything.

"Chloe?" Nothing. "Chloe."

She snapped into reality, eyes wide. "Huh?"

"You were zoning out." I paused, looking at her. "So what are you going to do?"

"About?"

"The crazy bitch. Tori."

"Nothing." She wiped her hands on her filthy clothes, trembling.

"Huh?" I said, echoing her words.

She gave a small smile as I said it. "I'm going to act like nothing happened."

I thought about it. If she did anything else it could go badly for her. Besides, she just didn't seem like anyone was going to talk her into doing it. She was kinda stubborn. "Yeah. If you blame her, things will only escalate. Better to ignore her and hope she gives up."

"_Pray_ she gives up," she muttered under her breath. She began to crawl to the door. I took one last look at the mounds we were leaving. Why were there so many bodies in the basement? I shivered as I remembered their ghoulish faces. I need a shower. I needed something to erase the last half hour from my mind.

Looking at Chloe's crawling form, I saw the dirt that had piled onto her clothing. Shit. "Is there still clean clothing down here?"

"One load in the dryer." She answered automatically, without thinking about it. She pulled herself out of the crawlspace and into the closet. "That's it. Why-" She looked down at herself. She was completely the color brown, from head to toe. "Oh, right." At least I didn't need to explain. I pulled myself out of the hole and onto the cement. "Most of what's in the dryer is yours so-"

"Chloe?" My heart stopped. Fuck. Mrs. Talbot. "Derek?" Her voice traveled closer to the door. "What are you two doing together?" She rounded the corner, eyes catching my face first. "Derek, you know you're not supposed to-" She caught sight of Chloe. Her voice puttered. "Dear lord, what happened to you?"

She told us to come upstairs and whispered to Van Dop to go get Dr. Gill.

Chloe tried to explain. I had no idea what she would say, but nothing seemed at all realistic. I just watched her try. "I was doing laundry, and D-Derek came down, looking for-"

She stopped as Dr. Gill came into the room, peering at us curiously. She gave me an upset look, thinking I had done something to hurt Chloe again.

"Go on, Chloe." Mrs. Talbot assured her quietly.

"H-he wanted his shirt. I-I asked about the stain stuff, because I couldn't find any and I opened the closet to look, and Derek said it was usually l-locked. We f-found the ladder and the crawlspace and we were curious." Well, if it weren't for the stuttering, it would have been almost believable, I guess. Maybe. Ah, Hell, we were doomed.

"Oh, I bet you were curious. Kids your age are very curious, aren't they?" My eyes shot to Dr. Gill who folded her arms, no longer looking at me angrily.

"I- I guess so. We were exploring-"

"I bet you were." I looked at her, realizing why she wasn't angry with me anymore. She thought-? Chloe and I? Oh, for God's sake. Why is everything teenagers do have to do with their libidos? Well, it made Dr. Gill happy to see her recommendation was still valid.

I looked at Chloe. Really? These people think that any girl, especially a girl who kind of hated me, would do anything like that with _me_?

Chloe saw the look on Dr. Gill's face and recognized it for what it was. She scrunched her nose up and said, "No. It's not anything like _that_!" Ow. Disgust was a little strong to show right in front of me, don't you think?

Talbot and Gill exchanged a look. They didn't believe her. "No. We were just exploring the c-crawlspace." She was not a convincing liar. The stutter gave it away. She looked at me, eyes wide. She gave a little shake of her head, saying to herself, "How could they think I'd kiss that?" Ow, again.

I noticed quickly with every word she said, they believed her less. I didn't say one word. If they believed this, they would never need to go back into the basement and look at our hasty burial ground. They wouldn't believe us anyways. There was nothing to do but pretend that Chloe's adamant refusal of me didn't hurt.

Why did it hurt? It's not like I expect or even want girls to notice me. Okay, well maybe part of me did want girls to notice me, but the disgust at the thought on her face hurt. I'm still human. I used to be decent looking. I used to look normal. But her face condemned me as something no girl would_ ever_ think about kissing.

And part of me agreed.

When we were finally told to go to our rooms, Chloe hurried, making sure no one saw the wet mark on her jeans. I was really, really glad. If they thought we had been fooling around in the basement and saw the wet mark, they would probably assume that we had gone way past the first base that they were thinking now. Any guy past puberty knew what that could mean.

I went upstairs and sat on my desk chair, still dirty from the basement. I stared out the window and remembered when life had been normal. When it was Simon, Dad, and I. When I was a normalish kid. When people didn't look at me like I was an insect. A big insect that could squash them. When every so ofter a girl would smile at me and I wasn't in a nuthouse. Before Chloe, before Lyle House, before I broke a kid's spine.

I had sat there for who knows how long when a clump of dirt caught my attention as it fell out of my hair and onto my lap. Ew.

The faces of the dead remained in my head. The feeling of being unable to do anything but rely on the most skittish girl in the world to stop the monsters from getting us. My skin crawled as I remembered the noises of the thumps and bumps of the zombies. I had even heard the rip of muscles when one of the zombies had gotten close enough to Chloe to try and push extra hard to touch her.

Some had only eye sockets. Those were better to look at than the ones that had some leftovers inside. Ick. I got up looking at myself. I would definitely feel better with a shower.

I went into the shower and took longer than I ever had. Most of the time I spent in there was me just staring at the drain, unable to focus. Then I started scrubbing until I felt cleaner than I ever had. I was pink everywhere and my hair literally squeaked when I rubbed it. The water had turned cold by the time I opened the curtains.

As I put on my clothes, I felt my mind start to reconstruct itself. What did I have to do? Oh, right. Get Simon to go find our father. Not get transferred. Burn the clothes I had been wearing. Sounds like a plan.

I decided to listen in to what the rest of the house was doing in the wake of Chloe's and my nightmare.

I heard a woman who sounded familiar talking to Chloe. "-the temptation to experiment-"

"It wasn't like that. It wasn't anything like that. We found the crawlspace and Derek wanted to check it out and I thought that'd be cool." Perseverant little thing, wasn't she?

"So you followed him in there? After what he'd done to you?" Well, now I identified the voice as Aunt Lauren, the bitch from the other day. "Oh, Chloe, I can't believe-" Her voice changed from shock to concern. "Did you think harassing and hurting you the other day meant he liked you?" Oh, for fuck's sake. Really? Fucking really? What did her aunt think of this girl?

"What?" Well, at least she was as just as surprised as I was. "No, of course not. Derek isn't- He made a mistake." WHAT? She, the girl who hated me, was defending me? Well, I suppose saving her from the undead did help my case. "He didn't really hurt me and he didn't mean to do it. It was a misunderstanding." Well, that wouldn't help. She had to understand that her aunt thought she was an abused girl who had turned into a mental freak that would look for love anywhere. Saying that would make her think-

"Oh, Chloe. Sweetheart, no. You can't fall for that. You can't make excuses for him." Yep. There it is.

"Excuses?"

"Maybe this is the first boy who's ever said 'I like you,' and I know that feels good, but this will not be the only boy who likes you, Chloe." My mouth dropped. Holy shit. What the hell? Why would her aunt ever even think that? What was wrong with this woman? "He's just the first with the nerve to say so. He's older. He took advantage of the situation."

Right. Yeah, well, I am just a horn dog. Lock me up and throw away the key. Please save your daughters. Because the number of girls I've kissed is around, oh, let's see, none? Yeah, none. That's a good number. I really am just so much more advanced than Chloe. Damn me for making her fall for me. My sarcastic tirade made me laugh. Dude, no one else on the planet would think that but these three bozo's. Chloe's pretty in a girl-next-door kind of way and could become a firecracker in her personality. I'm not interested and... not pretty. The contrast made me laugh. No way on Earth anything would ever happen between us. Ever.

"At school, I imagine girls won't look at him twice and here he is, with a pretty girl, young, impressionable, trapped-" Woah. What? She makes me sound like a forty-year old pedophile. She's only a year younger than me. How have I had to stoop to looking for girls who are 'impressionable?' And what the fuck does that even mean? And calling my looks out? What a bitch. I made a fist, wanting to punch the wall.

"Aunt Lauren! God, it's not-"

"You can do better, Chloe. Much better." I stalked to my room, anger jerking my limbs. I grabbed a pillow and tore it in half. I actually felt a little better afterward. When will people stop pointing out that I am hideous? Okay, I think we all get it. Message received!

There was a long silence. Then, "Aren't you going to say anything, Chloe?"

"Why?" Chloe's voice told anyone who could hear it that she was pissed. In a big, huge way. "I've tried. You've already made up your mind."

"I'd like to hear your side."

Chloe started to shout at her. "Just because I'm in this place, just because I'm 'sick,' doesn't mean I'm any different that I was a week ago. Back then, you'd know something was wrong with this story. You's have asked for my explanation _before_ accusing me of anything. But now?" A chair slid back, scraping on the wood floor. "Now, I'm just the crazy girl."

"Chloe, I don't think-"

"I know exactly what you think." She slammed the office door behind her as she walked away.

I was thoroughly impressed. She could handle herself. Against the living, I mean. Too bad this wouldn't help her in anyway except prove to her aunt how much she had changed. One plus of all this is that a transfer seems much more possible for her, which means Simon would be more willing to leave. Bottom line: I think this is a win. Maybe.


	19. Annoyed

Okay, quick heads up: I didn't quite get to the shower scene in this chapter. There was a lot more Derek/ Chloe action than I remembered. So next time, for sure. So I'm not quite sure if I like this chapter or not. But It covers everything and I can't really think of how else it would go... So, we're stuck with it. I have begun working on part two of the Dream Forgotten because of popular demand, but it's slow going because this is my baby and I'm gunna try and update this before I even think of touching the Dream. But there's that to look forward to. I dunno if I'm going for full lemon or if I'm going to keep it T. We shall see... Muahahaha. Actually, help me out if you have an opinion. Should I keep it teen or slut it up? It is a teenage boy's dream. Could go either way. So there ya go. Everything that's on my mind lately. Lol SO... read, review, tell me (again, I know) whether I should slut up one of my works or not, and hopefully enjoy the chapter :).

Alternativemusicgirl: Ah, you noticed that did you? I hoped someone would. I like making him so, so wrong :D. Hydei: I don't know if you ever saw my rants about my hatred of her character, but they are somewhere in my A/N. I HATE her. HATE. Fiery burning hatred that has probably shown over in my writing of her because it is soooo much HATE. So yeah, totally agree on the disgruntled employee thing. Kelley Miley: The pedo thing was a thought I had when I first read this part. I was like, "Really? You just described Derek as every guy that has ever sat in the hot seat on Dateline's "To catch a predator". Except Derek doesn't have a mustache." (I hate mustaches. A lot. Nothing good comes from mustaches. See example above and note hitler's mustache wearing as well.) The Mrs. Gill thing, I didn't realize how weird it was for her to smile until after I posted. I meant it as, "Oh, he didn't make me look like a dumbass by hurting her. They were being normal teens." But yeah, I see hwo it was weird now. Lol. Bertle: Aw.. im sorry you have that fear. I think everyone does, esp. teenagers. We get accused of shit that doesn't even make sense. I got searched at the mall one time by a security guard at a clothing store when all I was wearing was a skirt and tanktop and I had no purse. My money was in my bra for god's sake. I don't know why she searched me, but I was mad as hell. Oops off on a tangent lol. I actually think he is. Notice in this chapter, he sees Chloe, but doesn't even bother saying anything about Rae until she's a bitch. Just my perception. When will he notice that he sees her as a person... I don't know yet. Lol. Ah Hael: Welcome! Thanks. I try hard not to make him girly (Though in the chapter with Simon and him reminiscing I feel that I may have been a bit too girly, but oh well.) It may help that I don't find girly guys attractive at all. So, I have a clear line on what is too girly and what is common guy. Thanks for notcing my hard work though :). I had been thinking about that a lot actually. I haven't really read it yet, but when I saw your post I skimmed through the end of it and the end was where I wanted him to end feeling-wise towards Chloe. So, Most likely I will make mention of it at the end of the last chapter for this book that has him. BUUUT... if there's something I really don't like I may rewrite it. So, I got to read it first. I'll probably ask people what they would prefer as well. If they've already read the escape in DPOV and they don't want to read it again, then def. Ill just make mention. If they would rather get my take, I'd probably rewrite it. Wow... That was a big chunk of space for a response lol. So, if you have a preference you can let me know (This goes for my readers who read all of this stuff to other people as well.) Conceited Pixie: Yeah, those commercials get me too. The animal abuse shows... God help me. My boyfriend loves watching sappy movies for the sheer reason that he gets a kick out of how long I cry for. It's just wrong. Having a dirty mind is a good thing. Guys you date love it. They like girls that are girlfriends and best friends rolled into one. That's what she said can be very fun in those situations ;). Ooh. You're favorite? Well, I'm gong to have to top myself then. And thanks. I really had no freaking idea. And your suggestion makes sense. AbandonAllShipsLover: Welcome! Thank you for enjoying my FanFic. Well, at the pace i'm going it'll be the second book soon and maybe two months till the third. So, yeah if your williing to keep checking we'll get there :). Roxi90: Welcome! And yay! I have a fan in another country. That is so cool. Thank you for enjoying my FanFic. I'm glad you find it amazing! Thank you for all the nice things you said and I will try and update as much as I have been. Marle: Welcome! Thanks for liking my FanFic. I'm glad you think I captured him well. Everything he says in the fanfic is second-guessed like six times so that it will sound like him lol so I'm glad you appreciate it :D

That was a lot of reviewers O.o. Thanks for everyone that reviews. You guys make my day when I log on and read the things you say :)

Derek's point of view

After, I just sat on my bed, throwing the soccer ball Simon had up here up and catching it over and over again. Finally, Mrs. Talbot came up and told me it was time to go talk to Dr. Davidoff and talk about the consequences.

Ah. Here I was again. Back to being one step from being out. Just had to hear the words. Funny how Chloe has changed things so dramatically. It wasn't her fault. The first time was mine and if I get kicked out from this, it will be mostly based off the first time, so there ya go. My fault.

Would I go with them? Would I transfer? What if Chloe was right about Liz?

I shook my head. No one would kill Liz. That's ridiculous. She's letting her imagination run wild because she saw Liz.

When we entered the office, Chloe was sitting in one of the chairs. Dr. Davidoff and Dr. Gill sat behind the desk. I sat in the chair next to her.

Dr. Gill rested her hands on the desk. "Well, do either of you have anything to say?" Chloe stared at the floor and I stared at the wall behind the adults. "Derek? We haven't heard the real story here. Perhaps you would like to tell me?"

I looked at her, surprised she had decided to ask me. I shrugged, then said, " Whatever." I crossed my arms, sliding down in my chair. _Just tell me I'm leaving already. Why drag it out?_

She looked at me for a long time before looking at Dr. Davidoff. She was hurt by my lack of helpfulness for her.

"This isn't the first time the two of you have tangled. And I have a feeling it won't be the last. We need to nip this in the bud, and the only way we're going to do that is with a transfer." I almost breathed a sigh of relief. No more sitting here staring at each other. She just said the words. Now she would tell me it was me, that I won my-own-personal-hell lottery. Then I would go with them.

Because I had decided. It was better to get better somewhere else than hurt anyone. I couldn't take the risk. Looking at Chloe, knowing how much I could have hurt her, remembering how I had stared at her crumpled body, I knew that I would never be able to take the risk.

"I will." A pause. Another pause. The realization that Chloe had just said those words hit me. What? I swung my head around. What. The. Hell?

She looked as surprised as I did that she had said it. Maybe some deep down place in her wanted to make up for me saving her. Maybe she wanted to impress Simon. This would do the trick, but to what end? Maybe after all of everything we had told her, she was just a fucking crazy chick who happened to have powers. It was entirely possible.

Then my logical mind caught up with what this could mean. If she had until tomorrow, she could escape with Simon tonight. Hell, they could escape today if necessary. I could cover for them. Pretend I had no idea where they went when the truth came out. Then again, I really didn't. Simon had the spells to find Dad. Not me.

That's why, instead of saying, 'well, this is kinda my fault,' I just sat there and told myself it was better for her and Simon. They could run away together. If they took her bid for transfer. They probably wouldn't. I was the one they would blame for both instances. I was the boy. The boy who had grabbed her. The boy who 'took advantage.'

Nope, my two cents weren't necessary either way.

So when Dr. Davidoff spoke, I was surprised to find a magical third door where no one was in danger of a transfer. "No one's going anywhere. For now, I'm putting both of you on notice. But don't give me any reason to revisit this discussion. Is that understood?"

Well, yeah. I understood keep away from the blond chick. It was the actual doing that I fucked up on. We just tended to keep bumping into each other. How do I stay away from someone so necessary in my plan to get Simon the hell out of here?

So, when we left the office, I knew I had to go straight to convincing Chloe that she had to go, while the freaking out from the office was still fresh.

We headed down the hall and she started to wipe furiously at her shirt as if something was there. When I realized she was slowing down, I stepped in front of her, blocking the hall. Now, she had to talk to me. She just kept rubbing her clean shirt. The one she had recently changed into.

"What are you wiping at?"

"A spot." Liar.

"There's no spot." Duh.

She squared her shoulders and stood up straight. "That's because I fixed it." Stubborn liar.

She tried to move past me. Right. That'd work. If I let her.

I stayed directly in the middle. "We need to talk."

Her look suggested she thought I was insane. "Do you really think that's a good idea?"

"Simon'll be there. Five minutes. Out back." She had to listen. Simon would be there.

While we had been waiting for the Davidoff meeting, Simon and Rae had come home, but were told to leave us alone until later on. I went to tell Simon what had happened. I took him out to where we were going to meet Chloe When I told him about the zombies, his eyes bugged out of his head. "No way!" I ignored him and continued until I go to the part about burying them. I left out anything too embarrassing about Chloe. Simon liked her and I didn't want him trying to comfort her about wetting herself or anything else. Somethings are just never spoken of again.

"I wish I had been here." He looked jealous. "You got to save her while I swam with Rae. I'll take being the hero any day.

I laughed. "They were pretty gross. You wouldn't have had anymore fun than with Rae. Less so, in fact." Then I told him how Mrs. Talbot had found us and what she had accused us of. I told him everything that had happened until we left the office a moment ago.

He looked down. "Ah, I had heard that." He smiled, an odd tight smile. Was he that jealous of me saving her? "I knew that wasn't it, but I had wondered what the hell had gone on to get to that point."

I mean, I wouldn't believe it either, so how did the adults?

"How'd you find out?"

"We overheard Mrs. Talbot and Mrs. Van Dop. Rae and I both heard." Great. The nurses in this place had no idea how to keep anything a mystery for five minutes.

"Well, Chloe should be meeting us out here in a minute."

He looked confused. "Isn't that a bad idea?"

"You'll be here. Plus we really need to talk about what she should do if they take her up on the offer." He shivered. "If she's transferred to a really bad place, it could be something that snaps her. What if there are ghosts in the next place?" He looked horrified at the thought. Perfect.

"But she might not want to talk, Derek." He said, eyebrows scrunching together as he thought this through. "She might not want to chance being seen with you again, either."

"Well, it's important. We need to talk about what she's going to do." I decided to up the ante. "What if she was right about Liz? What if there's something worse going on here?"

He looked at me disbelievingly for a second before exploding. "Oh, for God's sake! You're the one that said that there was a good explanation for Liz's ghost, if she is, really, a ghost!" He looked at me with concentration. "Why are you pushing this so hard?"

I shook my head, looking at the door. Chloe hadn't come out yet.

"Derek?"

I got up, looking toward the house.

Goddamn it. "Doesn't she know that I'm not just talking to talk? This is important" I stalked toward the house.

"Where are you going?" Simon ran after me. "You can't go get her!"

"Oh, yes, I can." He tried to get in my way of the door. I picked him up and moved him. "I won't get in trouble. No nurse will see. But she's gotta come out and talk to us."

"Let me go get her," he said as I opened the door. That wouldn't work at all. If she said no, he'd talk to her without me and they might not reach the conclusion I needed them to. So, I just ignored him and walked into the house.

I heard Rae talking in the media room and knew Chloe would be in there. As I entered the room, Rae stopped mid-sentence, seeing me over Chloe's head. "What do you want?" I ignored her, going around the loveseat Chloe was lounging in. I tapped my watch in a sarcastic manner. "Did I say five minutes?" Here, she was, chatting it up with Rae, when she should have listened to me and should be outside, making plans to leave.

"Yes, you did." She said, in a reasonable voice. "And I said it wasn't a good idea."

"We need to talk to you." I used the plural to motivate her. It was Simon that would be one reason why she would leave. It would be Simon that would make her hurry her ass outside.

Rae's voice came from behind me. "Should I get the nurses?" I rolled my eyes as Chloe waved for her to sit down.

Then she gave me a look that was stubborn. "No."

Let's try this again. I put my hands in my pockets and pretended not to care what she did. "Simon wants to talk to you."

"Does Simon have feet? A mouth?" God, she was fucking annoying. "What are you? His faithful Saint Bernard, lumbering around, bearing your master's messages?" Eh, let her squawk. I don't care about her one iota.

I turned, letting her see my back completely. "Chloe?" What if she didn't come? What the hell was I going to do? "Chloe, pl-" I almost said it. Almost. But if she wanted to become Scaredy Chloe once again, who was I to say please? I could figure out another plan. One that didn't need her in it. I just walked away, mid-sentence. Mid-word.

"Bye! Always a pleasure chatting with you!" I heard Rae call to my back. Bitch.

I listened for Simon, didn't hear him, then went to look for him outside. I looked around the yard a bit, then went up in my room. Finally, I tried listening for him again and heard his voice in the media room.

I went downstairs and looked in. He and Chloe were laughing and hanging. How did he just bond so easily? I was almost jealous of the skill. They looked so... unconcerned.

"Hey, bro. Get enough fresh air?"

I almost flipped him the finger, but Chloe turned around and I decided talking about the plan was more important that telling my brother how annoying he could be.

"I wanted to talk to you. Both of you."

"Then pull up a chair. The current topic of conversation is zombie movies." He looked at Chloe. "Are we still on zombie movies?"

"I think so." Um, what the fuck? Zombie movies? After we were just locked in the basement with the horde of the undead? What the hell is wrong with these two?

"Zombie movies?" I asked, disbelievingly. "Have you two forgotten what happened today?"

"Nope. That's why we're talking about it. Kinda." He smiled at Chloe, charming as ever. Dear lord.

"Chloe, is in danger. Serious danger. And you're lounging around, yapping about zombie movies?"

He frowned, seriously annoyed at me. "Lounging? Yapping? Good word choices. Very evocative. You making a point? I know perfectly well what happened and what it could mean for Chloe. But the sky isn't going to fall if we don't discuss it this very minute, Chicken Little." He stretched slowly, egging me on. "Right now, I think we could all use some time to chill."

"Chill?" My blood boiled, but I wasn't worried. No part of me could ever hurt Simon. "You do a lot of that, don't you? In fact, that's pretty much all you do."

Chloe's voice came from behind me. "I- I'd better see if Rae needs help. With her chores."  
Simon sat. "Hold up. We're almost done here." He looked back at me, anger apparent on his face. What the hell had set him off so much? I'd have to ask him later. "Right?"

I was pissed and had a plan and I could not handle having him fuck this up this badly, so I decided to hit him with the worst thing I could think of. "Sure. Go ahead. Take it easy. I'm sure Dad will walk in that door any minute and rescue us. And if he's in trouble? If he needs help? Well, too bad because that requires effort and you're too busy... chilling."

He jumped back up and we stared at each other, anger and the need to win coursing through the air. Finally, he looked away and said to Chloe, "Let's go."

He and she left, neither looking back, and I stood there alone. Angry and alone. Just like old times.


	20. Dangerous

I know this took FOREVER for me to post, but this was a long as hell chapter. Ug. This was an insane amount to write. Every moment of spare time went into this. So here it is for you. Next is Chloe's night visit. Ooooh. Lol so tell me what you think of this chapter. I changed entire sections of it like four times, trying to get this right. Read, review and Enjoy

Elizi02: Actually, I kinda thought he turned his head away from Derek to mouth it. He was mouthing it for a reason. To not let derek know. So, that's why Derek would have not noticed it. At least, that's what I think... Is it distracting that it's not there? DoarfthXx: What the fuck is hagen? I feel like I'm 90 with all these words and abbreviations I don't get. One of you young whippersnappers explain that to me, please. So I can atleast understand if this was a happy comment or an unhappy one... Kaki: Yeah, I am, but it's slow going. This chapter was my own personal hell so I spent hours upon hours on it tryign to make it work. So I kinda let the other one fall by the wayside. Plus I may start writing an original fiction (Prolly not going to share that one though). So, I am tryign, but the book may be finished before I finish the continuation. Marlene: Welcome! Unless maybe you didn't sign in for the last chap and your marle? Or is that a coincidence? Anyhoo, I rather liked it myself. Made me laugh. So I'm glad you thought it summed things up nicely :) It's very important that you guys like Derek. A Clerek work isn't very good if you want Derek to go crawl in a hole and die. Lol So i'm glad that, despite the things he says and does, his brain is keeping you guys on team Derek. Concieted: I won't really slut up this one. I mean, there are parts where Derek won't be able to help being male ***** See story below * but besides that, not really until maybe last book. For the dream,... I wouldn't post your address anywhere. There are quite a bit of women who want lemon and want it now and now your making me agree. It should be a silhouette of this story, of how he's becoming more entranced with her. So, you may be yelled at by others, but dammit! I agree. Kissed by a demon: I'm pretty sure K+ is lower age group than this one... not positive but I think so. For this story, His mind is my playground, but it'll stay fairly clean (For awhile at least). But I always have The Dream forgotten for all you citrusy people out there. Alwaysreading: Lol, I like your anger for the people in this book that piss Derek off. Derek would definitely approve. Bertle: I feel so bad. You were so excited for this and it took so long :(. But I promise I worked super hard on it. And it's long as hell so Yay! About how you've been waiting for the books, I can only hope that Kelley would feel I did okay with this :) Lol and about the airport, your lucky. My boyfriend is of western europe descent but he looks a little middle eastern so everytime his very tan family flies, they get stopped at every airport. Luckily, he's never had to go be searched in depth lol. 1 and 2: What the hell did I tell you people? :) Please put names when you comment. Even if its a letter, I need a name to talk to, even if it's short. Please? Pretty please?silverymoon: Welcome! I'm glad you enjoy my story. Hopefully, I don't disappoint. :) Readinginthedark: Welcome! Thanks for enjoying it! I love all my new reviewers and all my comments and seeing the little number that says favorites rise higher always tickles my vain little heart. Sad, I know, but it really makes me happy seeing all the numbers go higher. Thanks for making it go one higher and thanks for reviewing. Hope you like this one! Kelley Miley: I swear to god it used to bother me too when he didn't say anything after she volunteered. Some of the stuff she has him do bothers me, so it's very therapeutic to be able to go back and give him a reason.

Derek's point of view:

As I paced around the media room, fuming at Simon, I realized that Simon probably had his reasons for being a dumbass. He probably knew something I didn't. I mean, when it came to girls, he had eons more experience than I ever would, and he hadn't done anything past second base with any of them. I just... didn't talk to girls, or anyone, really, besides Simon and Dad. Sure, some teachers, maybe a few half-hearted guy friends, but girls? I never gave them much consideration. So now that Chloe is someone I have to actually speak to on a semi-usual basis, I just treat her like I would anyone else.

I know girls are gentler and need to be protected and all, but I just can't... understand what to do. I should just listen to Simon. Maybe she needed a break from the drama. I mean, I needed a break from it and I hadn't been alone with the zombies.

But, on the other hand, I needed Simon to go and sooner was better than later. And Chloe was a great motivation for his little romantic heart. It would give him the boost to find Dad.

Being a guy sucked. A lot. Girls were too tricky.

So, instead of trying to go find them and force them to think about the plan, I would give them some time. I couldn't have Simon getting too mad at me and it's not like I knew what Chloe needed right now. I decided to go upstairs and read the next chapter for science. I went up the stairs, wondering how I would fix the mess I had created. Fuck. Simon was mad, Chloe was back to thinking I was the devil, and the clock was ticking.

I entered our room and saw the pile of dirty clothes that I had been meaning to throw out. I did not want to wear them again, ever. It's not like I have a shortage, either. I picked up the pile, ready to bring it downstairs for the trash, when I saw out the window into the yard. They were sitting on stone bench in the yard, talking to one another. I immediately tuned in to their conversation.

"That's no big deal." Okay, time to wait for context. "When you're raised like us, as supernaturals, it's... different. The rules are different. They have to be. If there's trouble, you have to run." Well, hell. They were talking about leaving. Interesting.

"But you don't want to go?" I snorted. Simon wanted to go worse than I did.

"Oh, I _want_ to. I've been chomping at the bit since we go there." Understatement of the year. No, make that the century. "My dad's out there- somewhere- maybe in trouble and I'm sitting around in a group home? Going to class? Hanging with Derek? Acting like nothing's wrong? It's killing me, Chloe. Derek knows how bad I want out. Like I said, he's pushing my buttons." And it won't stop until the bags are packed. Dad needs Simon. Easy for anyone to understand.

"Where is your dad?" Million dollar question.

"We don't know. He just- things went wrong and he disappeared and we ended up here. It's a long story." I sat down on the bed, heavy with remembering. Those last few days with Dad...

I laid down, listening, but closing my eyes, suddenly tired from my day.

"Then it can wait." They were a good match. Both were caring people, when they didn't have a bug up their asses.

"Thanks. Point is, he's gone and I'm sure he didn't leave willingly. So we're stuck here, supposedly waiting to get released, but then for what? Where would we go? There's no grandma or great-uncle or family friend waiting to take us. We'd go into foster care and then we'd need to escape from there, so what's the point of waiting?"

A pause. "You want out now, but you can't get out." Chloe seemed to be trying to figure out why he was still here.

"We _can_ get out." I flinched at the we. Couldn't he get it through his head? Not going with him. Period. "Derek's got a plan." He laughed. "Trust me, the man's always got a plan." I smiled, hearing the smile in his voice. "But it's an escape plan for one- for me. He won't go. Flat out refuses." Well, there is a reason. That I have told him. Again and again. He just doesn't listen when he doesn't like what I'm saying.

"_What?_" Chloe's voice practically screeched. "He's making you feel guilty about staying when he won't go himself? Where does he get off?" I felt the annoyance scrunch my face. She is so holier than thou sometimes.

"Yeah, I know, and I don't want to sound like I'm defending him," he said. Oh, no. Not that. Don't defend me. Punk. " But he has a reason for not wanting to go." Hah! He said it. Now, he could never tell me that I had no reason! "It's a stupid reason, but it's a big deal to him and there's no sense trying to change his mind. He just... freaks." He had better not tell her. I don't want her knowing about me, about the things I did. Stupid things I did.

"Freaks?" Yeah. Freaks? I don't freak. I just say no. Hell, no.

"It's complicated. Derek's idea, though, is for me to get out and find Dad. Dad taught me ways to get in touch with him. Spells and stuff. But I can't leave Derek."

"Can't?" Smart girl. This is why she was on the list of people to watch.

"Won't, I guess. I'm worried about Dad, but he can take care of himself, way better than Derek can." I'm sorry, _what_? I'm the one with a plan. Well, okay, maybe I'm not quite up to my people skills as I should be, but I can take care of Simon and I no problem, if the need arose. "I know Derek seems like he can and in most ways he can, but in others..." What others was he referencing? Psh. "It's complicated. If I take off and something goes wrong, I'm afraid he'll just... let it." Well... probably not. It matters...

"I don't understand."

"I know. I know I'm not making any sense, but..."

"It's complicated." They really were a perfect pair. Ug, two Simons? I mean, Simon was my brother and I like him and all, but two?

"Yeah. But-" A deep breath. "I'm starting to think I need to take that chance. Derek's right. Sitting on my butt isn't getting us anywhere. Now there's you to consider. You really need to get out." I almost didn't believe my ears. My plan worked. Success!

"I do?" Her voice squeaked.

"Derek's right. It doesn't matter how we work to hide your powers, they aren't like mine. They _can't_ be hidden. Not when you're living under a microscope."

"If I get transferred to a hospital, I'll get through it."

"But what if it's_ not_ a transfer? What you said about Liz keeps gnawing at me. Maybe she is a shaman. Or if she was dead, maybe it was and accident. Why would they kill kids who don't get better? It sounds nut, but even Derek's worried." Hardly. Well, maybe a little, but it was so ludicrous of an idea...

"Derek? But he said-"

"I know what he said. But when I talked to him later, he wasn't so quick to brush it off. Even raised some questions himself. With Derek, that's as close to agreement as you can get. But you still need help. Say everything goes fine and you get released, what will you do. Who will you talk to? How will you learn to get back to normal?"

A long as hell pause. I almost fell asleep, it was so long. But that may be being so tired as well.

"If you're getting out of here, I'll go with you." I sat up in bed, surprised as fuck. Did my plan work? Without me needed to coax it along at the end? Holy shit.

"You don't have to. I just meant that I need to leave, for me and Derek and, now, for you." So months of me telling him, 'You have to go. Just go. I'll be fine,' was unnecessary. He was even telling her she didn't have to go. After all my hard work! "When I find Dad, he can help us."

"Who will help _you_? Out there?" It was almost cute, her worry for him. Something about it sat wrong with me, though, ruining any goodness about it.

"I've got my killer fog spell." I laughed. I felt better now that he had said he would go. And Chloe would be out and with him, so he wouldn't be alone. Then, a thought had my mood mellow. Now, to wait for the escape.

"You need back up. Derek would be a lot better at that, but you're going to be stuck with me. I'm going." Hmm. When she said the words, I wasn't as happy as I had been. Maybe it's because her words reminded me that I would still be here. A necessary evil, of course, but depressing none the less.

When it was time for Simon and I to hang in our room after dinner, he told me everything. I pretended I hadn't been listening in. Sometimes, it bugged him when I didn't give him space.

"That's great, Simon. You can go find Dad and you'll be really helping Chloe." I smiled. "I'm sorry for earlier. I've just been so stressed with the whole Dad thing." Just make everything better. My new mantra.

He gave me a look that said he didn't quite believe the apology, but he was happy, too. Really happy. He had hated this place so much. More than even I did. Knowing we could walk out anytime didn't help him. Now that he knows he can leave soon, he's practically giddy. I could see it on his face. I'm sure Chloe being there helped, too.

After discussing plans between ourselves, I looked at my watch. Time for a shower. I grabbed my clothes and walked into the bathroom, ready to get clean. I felt gross still from the basement. Fuck zombies.

I turned on the light and shut the door. As I turned around, I saw a figure in the mirror, hiding behind the storage shelf. I yelped. It wasn't exactly the most manly thing I have ever done, but the bathroom in the nuthouse is not somewhere where you want people hiding. Especially when I recognized the figure as Chloe. What the hell?

Boy brain was already forming bad, bad thoughts. I mean, shower, girl, water... all common elements for at least one of most guys fantasies. The fact that Chloe was beautiful-

Woah. Stop right there. No thinking anything about Chloe. Especially right now.

"Are you nuts? What are you doing here?" I really can't believe I used the word beautiful. Cute, maybe, but beautiful? No way. Besides, I did not have any thoughts like that towards _Chloe_.

Chloe ignored my questions and walked past me, her perfume entering my nose as she passed. She locked the door.

Boy brain was now tearing itself apart. Fuck. Locked in a bathroom with a girl. Wolf brain woke from where I had stuffed him after the last time he had reared his ugly head. He was very interested in kissing her. I was now at war, again, with myself.

Somehow, I formed logical words as I said, "If you want to discuss the plan, this really isn't the place." Now if there's something else you want...

Hey, stop it. Bad brain.

She passed me again and turned on the shower.

Now, I was divided. One part of me was getting too excited and was... er... rising to the occasion. The other part of me was too confused and wondering what the hell this was about to let boy brain and wolf brain take over.

"Great." I said. "Now they're going to think we're showering together." A thought occurred. If they found her in here, we could be transferred before they could leave. Oh, shit. "Maybe we can just tell them we were washing off the crawlspace dirt and trying to conserve water." Hopefully, the mention to earlier would make her realize how stupid it was to be in here.

She walked right up to me and put her hands on her hips, looking almost like a angry toddler because of the difference in size. "You set me up."

What? I gave her a look of what the fuck are you saying? Boy brain quieted, confused. Obviously, no fun to be had here.

"All this time, "I've been trying to figure out why you want to help me. Why do you care if I know I'm a necromancer? Why do you care if I get booted out? Why stick your neck out for me, like you did this afternoon?" I dunno why I did some of it. Why did I care so much that she had been a necromancer? Because, even with Simon, sometimes, I felt alone, no one to talk to.

Boy, did I bark up the wrong tree. "I just want-" to help.

"To help. Sure, your obnoxious and arrogant, but underneath, there's a decent guy who wants to help a fellow supernatural." The sarcasm mad me angry. I am a nice guy. I just tend to use things that are already happening to help my objective. That doesn't make me bad. Right? "There has to be another reason. Today, I found it. Simon."

Really? She knew Simon liked her and she thought that was the reason I had done any of this? Why did she feel it was necessary to lock us in the bathroom then?

I crossed my arms, a clear sign of okay, whatever, go away. She can't fuck up everything I've been working for. "Yeah, Simon wanted me to be nice to you. Okay? Can I have my shower now?" An image of her under the spray with me flashed through my brain and I said, "Alone." Mostly to tell myself to knock it off.

She looked unimpressed with my annoyance. "You want Simon to run away. To find your dad. But he won't go without you." I'm glad she was just randomly saying facts now. It really helped me not want to just walk away. "He needs a reason to go right now. So you gave him one. The designated damsel in distress."

I looked at her for a second. Fuck. How did she figure it out? I only tried to convince her a little. Simon was the one I had been trying to convince the most. And he hadn't figured it out. "I don't know what you're talking about." I looked away.

"Here I was, a real necromancer, naïve and lost. Perfect bait. Just keep pushing us together, making a big deal out of how helpless I am, and eventually he'll put on his shining armor." She was too smart for her own good. She also knew Simon really well already. "Great plan. But it still lacks something. Stakes. In any great thriller, your hero needs three things. Goal, motivation, and stakes. Goal: Find your missing dad. Motivation: help the poor necromancer chick. The stakes were missing., though. You needed to put your damsel in actual distress. What if she was about to be transferred to a real mental hospital? Where she'd be out of Simon's reach and beyond help? Or worse, where she might die, the victim of some evil plan." Fuck. It sounded kind bad when she put it that way. "So you get Tori to-" WHAT?

"No! I did not have anything to do with that. Even if Tori would get close enough for me to carry on a conversation- which you may have noticed, she wont- I wouldn't do that. I did nothing to _make_ them transfer you." I just didn't protest it.

"Okay, so you took advantage of the situation."  
I tried to think of something to say as she searched my face, waiting for me to protest. When I couldn't, she continued. "When I first told you about seeing Liz, you brushed it off. But then you realized this could work in your favor, so you change your tune with Simon. You planted the seeds of doubt, then waiting for them to sprout. That's why you didn't argue when I offered to be the one transferred. That's exactly where you wanted me. You manipulated the situation and you lied-" Okay, now I was so fucking sick of this accusing shit.

"I never lied." Sure, I did all the other stuff, but none of it was bad. None of it was malicious. None of it even slightly like what Tori did.

She gave me a disbelieving look. "You really heard the doctors talking about transferring me yesterday?"

Damn. It wasn't lying, exactly. "I heard them talking about you and they seemed to be suggesting-"

"Okay, you didn't lie. You exaggerated."

I frowned. Time for this bullshit to end. "You are in danger." Or haven't you listened? "The more I think about Liz-"

"Cut the crap, okay, Derek? You got your wish. Simon's going. I'm going with him. You're right. He needs to get out and find his father. Of course, you could have saved us all this trouble by just going with him yourself. But that might be dangerous. And he's not your father, so it's not really your problem-"

I got up in her face, angry. How fucking dare she? She shrunk away like I was going to hit her then regained her composure. I hadn't even thought about hitting her or even touching her. Just yelling. Like I do with Simon. I guess I'm getting better at control. That must be it.

I clenched my hands, steaming mad. "Is that what I think, Chloe?"

She looked me in the face, freaked out by my anger, but standing tall. I wouldn't hurt her. I was able to separate my anger, like I could with Simon. "I don't know what you think, Derek." Her voice showed lack of regard for what I thought. "Simon says there's a reason you won't go. A stupid reason, according to him. So maybe it's an excuse. Maybe you just don't want to bother." An excuse? Sure, I may be level now, with her, but only days ago I _threw_ her. Does no one see that? I am dangerous. I'm a menace.

"An excuse?" I laughed, feeling myself start to become depressed. I shouldn't have to tell people that I'm not okay. I shouldn't have to warn people away. I wish I wasn't like this. I wish I wasn't a danger to everyone. "You read my file, right?" _You know how dangerous I am._

She looked embarrassed. "I-"

"I know you read it that night when you and Rae pretended to be raiding the kitchen."

She blushed from being caught. "Only because of what you did. I had know-"

I waved it off. "How dangerous I was. I don't blame you." I really didn't. I would have done the same. Actually, come to think of it, I did, before she even did anything that would warrant a look into the file. I looked at the floor as I said, "But you got you're answer, right?" I looked into her tiny face. "You know _exactly_ how dangerous I am."

She swallowed, uncomfortable with talking about it. "I-"

"You know what I did, and you think I should be walking the streets?" I hated this place, but how do I leave? Even to find Dad. What if some homeless guy got territorial on Simon and I and I snapped? What if the police try and make us come back and someone tackles Simon or something. I wouldn't think. I would protect him. And the list of bad things that I have done in my life would get longer. No. Never again. "I'm exactly where I belong.

She looked sad for me, which felt weird. She looked at the shower and watched the water fall for a minute. Then she looked back at me. "You must have had a reason for doing it."

I stared at her for a second, not comprehending. She was so like Simon. Refusing to believe in people who are bad. I did something bad. No reason, especially not the one I had, was worth that kid's future, that kid's life.

"Did I?" She started to look away and I moved with her eyes, forcing her to keep her eyes on me. This was something she had to understand. "Is that what you want, Chloe? To hear my reason? My excuse? That the guy pulled a gun on me and if I hadn't thrown him into a wall, I'd be dead? Well, that's not how it happened. There's a kid out there who'll never walk again and I have no excuse. It's my fault. _All_ my fault. Our dad disappearing. Simon being thrown in here. I-" I stopped. Every feeling had just poured out. Every feeling that I had had in the last months. Every awful knowledge that had plagued me and had driven me to getting Simon out, getting Simon to go find Dad. Fuck.

I took a deep breath. I can't just explode emotionally to Chloe. I hardly knew her. I hadn't even really talked to Simon about some of this stuff. Fuck. Another breath. "So, yeah, I want Simon out, and I'll do anything to get him out, but it's not like I'm putting you in danger." I wouldn't put anyone in danger. "You're getting something out of it. You don't have any reason to complain." I mean, she got to leave this hellhole. She got to go hang with Simon and learn about her powers and become the necromancer she needed to become in order to remain sane. And Simon and she could frolic like puppies.

I didn't think anything of the words as they left my mouth, but I watched the unhappiness begin to grow and grow on her face. I had never seen a, 'what the fuck?' look on anyone's face so strong as that, but there it was, staring at me. What the hell did I say? I was beginning to understand all the jokes guys said about girls about how fucking crazy they are. Who the hell mood swings like that? From absolutely nothing?

"No danger?" She said, slowly, dangerously. I widened my eyes. "I'm running away. From home. From my family. From my _life_."

I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore the look on her face. "You'll be with Simon. Don't pretend that's any big hardship." I had seen googly eyes. No girl could resist spending every minute with Simon once they got to this stage. She was probably really excited, but angry I was so blasé about it. I think? Maybe?

"What?"

Shit. Now, she was really pissed. I swear to god, I will never get a girlfriend if this is what talking to them is like. "You know what I mean." I tried backtracking. "A few days alone with Simon? That'll be tough. And it means a lot to him. A _lot_. Running away to help him find his dad? He'll never forget that."

After I was done speaking, I immediately noticed that that was the wrong thing to say. She narrowed her eyes and gave me the dirtiest look I have ever gotten in my life. Then she widened her eyes and had the fakest, barbie doll look on her face. "Oh my god, do you think so?" She had raised her voice to valley-girl levels. "Really? That's so cool. I bet he'll ask me to go steady and everything. We can send love letters between my juvenile detention center and his, and maybe they'll let us meet at coed dances..." I glared at her. She switched her voice back to normal. " You really think I'm an idiot, don't you?" She shot up her hand, putting it in front of us. "No, don't answer that. Please. News flash: getting a boyfriend is a not at the top of every girl's priority list. Right now, it ranks about as low on mine as you can get- way below such trivial concerns as getting my life back together." She was glaring at me, so angry she looked unable to even understand it.

"Alright-"

"After this is over, I wouldn't be surprised if Simon wanted to never to see me again. Just put this all behind him. You know what? That's fine. Because I need to find out what happened to Liz. And I want to help Simon because it's the right thing to do, not because I think he's sooo cute. I might not be a genius like you-"

Hey. "I'm not-"

"But I'm smart enough to know this isn't going to be some grand romantic adventure. I'm running away. I'll be living on the streets. Even if we find your dad, I'm not sure he's going to be able to fix my life." She paused and winced at a thought. "I'm not sure it can be fixed."

What was I supposed to do? She had a broken life, but I was helping make sure it didn't break too much. To the point where she gets checked into a mental hospital and never gets to go home. Or maybe the point where she gets killed. Jury is still out. "So I'm supposed to be grateful to you for going?

"I never said-" She didn't have to.

"You need to get out of here just as much as Simon does, maybe more. You might not see the danger you're in, but I do." Necromancers... the stories Dad had told me... If Chloe didn't have help, she would lose it. "And I'm worried." I looked at the girl in front of me. She was little and brave and impossible, but the stories I had heard... would break her.

"Worried? About me?" She sounded so surprised.

I was embarrassed. I don't know what to say to her. Yeah, I really was worried. But... "Sure. Concerned. You know." I looked at the floor, trying not to blush. This sounded so stupid. Girl's are impossible. No wonder I avoid them if I get all hero complex for this one. "Yeah, we need you, but I _do_ want to help a fellow supernatural." I looked at her, trying to read her. "We gotta stick together."

"Don't you dare." What the fuck?

"What?"

"You're right. I do need help. My life is falling apart and maybe someday I'll look back on this as the biggest, stupidest mistake I've ever made, but at this moment, it's the only solution I see. You need me to be your designated damsel in distress? Okay. But don't you ever say you're doing this for me. This has nothing to do with me. Don't you dare pretend it does."

She turned around and unlocked the door. She walked out and didn't look back.

Somewhere, deep inside of me, I was kinda hurt. I did care. Sure, I would probably do it even if I didn't, but I do.

I put the lid of the toilet down and sat. I watched the water hitting the curtains for a minute before I thought, _I wouldn't believe it either._


	21. Fever

Life is soo hectic. So, in order to update more, I'm going back to shorter chapters. A few were getting hella long. So, here you go. Sorry about the wait, but I'm doing the best I can. I hope you enjoy this one. I left a pleasant ending (Read chronologically! Do not skip to the end! This means you!) lol. I hope it makes you all happy. Okay, so next A/N I will formally ask you guys what you would prefer me to do when Simon and Derek separate from Chloe. I can either send you to read Kelley's version or I can write one of my own accord. Think about it and make sure you tell me next chapter. It's really your guy's preference. Anyhoo, read, review, enjoy, be merry, and all that jazz.

Kelly Miley: I'm sorry. It's been hectic here. I have three birthdays this week in my immediate family, my aunt visiting from the up (Upper Peninsula of michigan for anyone that doesn't know), work, school, and one boyfriend who I adore and has been feeling mucho unloved lately because of aforementioned busy schedule. I feel bad and I'll try to stay more on top of it. Forgive me? About your review, Yeah, He pretty much is clueless, but most guys who have actually associated with women in the past are, so we can't expect miracles from Derek of all people. The yelp is soo my favorite part of this whole thing, too. DoarfthXx: Number one: Where did you get such a name? I'm now realizing the intricacy of it. Lol, I thought any teenage boy HAD to think of such things. And... well, react to such thoughts lol. Lol I'm glad it wasn't more slang I didn't recognize. I was starting to feel like my mom. Sue: Welcome! And thank you. I will try not to :) I'm glad you liked my story. Kakitenshi: I'm glad you enjoy his brains. I do too. I think everyone had parts of them that think one way and another part that say, "Hey, none of that!" I'm glad it makes it easier to understand and funnier. I'm glad you forget her real reasons for things. It almost makes it a new book, doesn't it? Hydei: I'm glad you liked my last line. It's something all those fucking essays taught me from high school (Yes, they were actually useful.) Leave something interesting at the end. See? You do use some of this stuff later in life. Except high level math. *shiver * Conceited Pixie: Oh, I think we're talking about two different stories. I was talking about making The Dream Forgotten into a lemon. Everyone begged. But it would be soo cool to have it kinda intensify as their relationship in this one bonds closer. And when they kiss in the final book? Lemony goodness time. Bertle: If you read the below story, you should be able to tell which parts you influenced with your review. See? You guys affect my writing! Jamieno4: Welcome! And Thank you! All my reviewers make me feel special, but that's especially nice, considering your linie of work. I'm actually beginning to write a story that I may or may not finish, but if I did, I would try and get it published. So, it makes me have a little boost of happiness knowing you think that way :) SoullessWolfGirl98: Welcome: Thank you for loving my story :). In regards to whether you can update on a phone or not, I believe you can in you have any type of internet on your phone. It let me get to the upload page on mine, so I would say 99% yes. Hope that helps.

Derek's point of view

I didn't tell Simon what had happened. Not yet. I would tell him in the morning. My shower hadn't exactly made me feel better. I felt tired, like I had been all day. As Simon and I were reading and talking and just waiting for bed, he noticed me itching before I did.

"Why are you attacking your arm, bro?"

I looked up from my book. Sure enough, my arm was red and I was scratching an itch. I hadn't even really noticed. Now that I did, it itched like crazy. I ignored it and put my arms at my side. "Dry skin, maybe?"

Simon grinned at me. "Well, try not to take off the arm. I'm sure there's probably lotion in the bathroom or Mrs. Talbot might have some."

I nodded, trying to ignore the itching, but now that I had stopped scratching, it begged me to scratch it. I had been really itchy lately, but this was worse. Stronger. I got up and went to find the lotion. It was in the bathroom and I smeared it all over my arm. It cooled for a second, then came back. "What the...?"

Fucking arm. Just another fucking thing to add to the list. I went back to the room and tried to ignore the itching. I was starting to feel horrible. I had never been sick, but this is how I imagine it had to feel. My head was pounding, I was too warm, then too cold. I was itching non-stop. And once, when Simon went to pee, I went to stretch and I felt my muscles move oddly in my arm. It was so weird. It felt like my muscles were trying to crawl away and shift to where they were not supposed to go. I didn't tell Simon. He couldn't know that I was sick. He wouldn't go if he knew.

Besides, I can't be sick. Werewolves just don't get sick. Ever. So, what could it be? "Maybe the lack of exercise was starting to affect me? A reaction to crawling around in a graveyard? Something. When it was time for bed, I still felt all hot and every part of me was aching.

I couldn't sleep. I tried and I think I fell asleep for five minutes a couple times. My dreams were mixed and I knew that something was deeply wrong. I saw faces and heard screams and I saw a wolf in almost every dream. I think my subconscious was trying to tell me something, but I ignored it after I woke.

The dream I remember the best had Chloe in it. She was screaming behind a locked door and I was trying to get her. Then the dream kaleidoscoped into her and I running away from something behind us, screaming Simon's name for a time. Then after that, we started to call for my Dad and Chloe was gone and there was Simon grabbing my hand, pulling me into a forest, screaming Chloe's name.

A wolf stood just in the trees, watching us approach. He stared at me and I stared at him, and then it just turned into the blackness of the forest. As I realized it was gone, I looked around and I was alone. All alone. And then I saw a small figure, a girl's figure in the darkness walking back towards me.

I woke before the light of the dream could show showed the face. I couldn't sleep after that. The fever was burning and I was itchy as hell. I tried to stay quiet as I turned. The world seemed to tilt and I was burning alive. I took off my shirt. Behind my elbows was the itchiest.

I heard a whisper somewhere around me. "Derek?" I looked around blearily and thought, "Fuck. I'm really sick. I'm delusional." Then I heard it again, followed by tapping. "Derek?"

I got up. The breeze from moving felt good on my skin.

I opened the door and there was Chloe. Her hand was up, ready to knock. Seeing her there triggered some sense of Deja Vu.

She was staring at my chest, which was eye level for her. She stared for a second, not expecting me to open the door so quickly. She lowered her eyes, blushing from embarrassment it seemed.

"Chloe?" I was so surprised to see her I almost didn't believe my eyes. She finally raised her eyes to mine. "Chloe? What-"

"You owe me."

"Huh?" I tried to understand what the hell she was getting at, but I was too disoriented from fatigue and fever. I tried to work of the the fatigue by yawning. I stretched my shoulders out, trying to rid myself of the itches. "What time is it?"

"Late. Or early. It doesn't matter. I need your help and you owe me. Get dressed and be downstairs in five minutes." She turned and started to walk away. My confused brain tried to make sense of what she had said. Chloe needs help. Okay got that. Go downstairs. Got that. Get dressed. I looked down. No wonder Chloe looked so embarrassed. I was only in boxers. I turned back into the room to grab some decent clothes, wondering what the hell Chloe wanted to do.

I made it downstairs only a minute later. Chloe had put a sweatshirt over her tanktop. Good. It had been distracting once I realized that's all she had worn to my door. Especially because she hadn't worn a bra under it in the chill of the house...

I stopped in the hallway, waiting for a cue from her. "Fleas?" She said. I realized I was scratching again. I gave her a look and said, "Let's just get this over with." I was annoyed about her acting like I was such an asshole earlier and now needing my help. "I'm not in a good mood." Understatement of the day.

She motioned me into the media room and closed the door, face intent. I was almost so tired and sick that I didn't notice I was, once again, alone with this girl in a room. Now, there was a couch instead of a dirt floor or a shower.

She cocked her head, trying to hear something. Silly girl. Didn't she know she was with someone who could hear just about everything in the house? "We're fine here. Just keep it down. Someone comes, I'll hear." I assured her.

She started to move across the room and stopped before the window, moonlight lighting up her body. Her hair was messy and she looked tired. I followed her into the light patch, not thinking. "You've got a fever." She said, her face becoming worried. Dammit. I forgot that I probably looked like crap.

"Maybe." I ran my fingers through my hair and told her one of my least worrying theories. "Something I ate, I guess.

"Or some bug you picked up."

"I don't-" I started, then stopped. Did I want to tell her this part? Hell, why not? She was about to leave and I didn't need her telling Simon I was sick. "I don't get sick. Not often anyway." Never, but that sounds weird. "Part of my... condition. This seems to be a reaction. No big deal. I'm just off. Crankier than usual, Simon would say." I noticed that I had started to scratch again and I pulled my had away from my arm.

"You should go back to bed. Forget this-"

Oh, for God's sake. "No, you're right. I owe you. What do you need?" If I do this, it should convince her I was well-enough not to require Simon knowing. If he found out, he wouldn't go. And that can't happen.

"Hold on." She said after a moment's hesitation. Then she scurried to the hall. Dammit. How am I supposed to warn her if someone comes?"

"Chloe!" I whispered as loud as I dared. After a moment, as I heard her feet keep walking, I said, "Damn. Fuck. Shit," quietly. I was so tired that I'm sure it was just pitiful to hear.

I heard her rustling around in the kitchen, then I heard the tap start. She filled a glass and turned off the faucet. Then she began to walk back.

When she entered the room, she had the glass in hand and her other hand was closed with something inside. She opened her hand, revealing four Tylenol. Smart girl. Why hadn't I thought of Tylenol? I could have probably slept for at least a little while if I had taken some. I knew I was out of it, but the fact that it hadn't occurred to me showed how bad off I was.

She put them in my hand, soft fingers brushing mine.

"Two for now, two for later, in case you-" Ignoring her advice, I popped them in my mouth, then followed it with as much water as I could take in one mouthful.

"Or you could take them all now." She said, slightly disapproving and more shocked.

I shrugged. "I've got a high metabolism. Another part of my condition."

She gave me a small smile in the darkness. "I know a lot of girls who wouldn't mind that."  
I tried to hold in a laugh. If all I needed to do was be sick to have Chloe not freak out on me, then I had to try and get sick again tomorrow so she would leave without a scene. I took a drink of water to hide the laugh. After I had finished it, I looked down at her. "Thanks, but... You don't need to be nice to me just because I'm not feeling great. You're mad. You've got a right to be. I used you and I made it worse by pretending I hadn't. If I were you, I wouldn't be bringing water unless it was to dump on my head." Okay, obviously the fever had made me much more able to apologize. It had lowered my inhibitions, so now I was practically apologizing. The look Chloe gave me told me that I had said something that didn't upset her for once. Maybe girls weren't that hard to talk to? Yeah, right. I turned my face away as I set the glass down. I examined myself as I did. I was upset that she was mad at me. Why?

I turned back, trying to ignore my fever-addled brain. "Okay, so you need...?"

She motioned toward the loveseat and boy-brain basically said, "Hell, yeah." I was unhappy. I did not want to be trying to make myself think about anything not sexual while every part of me was only thinking of everything sexual. I had too strong a reaction when Chloe was around. I did not want to be on a small couch trying not to pull her onto my lap.

She took a seat in a chair opposite the love seat and I took a mental sigh of relief. Now, hopefully, I could think straight. I sat on the loveseat, suddenly glad I didn't have to focus on balancing any longer. "You know something about necromancy, right?"

Now, she was asking? I had myself open to questions since she got here. I shrugged, not wanting to get her hopes up. "I'm no expert."

She continued on, her little face set with a determined look. "But you know more than me, Simon, or anyone else I can talk to at this moment. So how do necromancers contact the dead?"

"You mean like the guy in the basement? If he's there, you should see him. Then you'd just talk, like we are right now."

"I mean contacting a specific person. Can I do that? Or am I restricted to those I just stumble across?" She looked so intensely at me that a thought crossed my mind. What if she wanted to contact her mom.

Oh, god. It would be so tempting if I were her and I had parents that I missed. Shit. "If you mean your mom, Chloe-"

She looked at me sharply. "No." Her voice was hard. Then she softened it a little. "I haven't even thought-" She shook her head slightly. "Well, yes, I've considered it, for someday maybe, of course I'd like to, love to-" She stopped, noticeably upset. She took a breath and continued. "This is connected to our situation."  
I tried to think of what she could be getting at. "You mean Liz?"

"No. I- I should try and contact her, I guess. J-Just toe be sure. But that's not it. Forget why I want to know." She seemed very upset about any mention of Liz.

I still was worried about why she wanted to know. A wave of fatigue hit me and I sat back. "If I knew why, I could answer a lot easier."

She ignored my request and said, "If I _can_ contact a specific person how would I do it?"

I sighed. "You can, but it's not easy and it's not guaranteed at your age. Like Simon and his spells, you're at the apprenticeship level." Except for the whole raise a basement full of undead beings part.

She considered this and said, "Where I can do things by accident, like raising the dead." A good theory for her. But sadly...

"Well, no." I paused, unsure if I should tell her the rest. "From what I heard, raising the dead is the toughest thing to do, and it needs this complicated ritual." Another pause made me aware of my hand scratching my arm again. Goddammit. I shook my head and stopped. Then I looked at Chloe. Her eyes were wide, unhappy with what I had told her. "I must have heard wrong," I hurried to say. "Like I said, I'm not an expert."

She paused and then shook her head. "Back to _how_, then. How do I call up a specific ghost?"

Shit. I don't remember. I laid my head back on the back of the couch, willing myself to think through the fever. My brain was groggy and slow, but eventually I remembered what Dad had told me. "If I remember right, there are two ways. You could use a personal effect."

"Like with a tracking dog."

At first, I thought she was picking on me for the wolf thing. Then when I remembered she had no idea, I gave a little laugh. She was comparing herself to a dog. Her? Of the two people in this room, that was just purely comical.

"Yeah, I guess so," I said, amused. "Or like one of those psychics you see in the movies, always asking for something that belonged to the person."

"And the second way?" She looked hopeful, like she had been waiting for this answer and could care less about the other.

"You need to be at the grave."

She was silent a moment, and I couldn't tell if this was the right answer or the wrong one. "At the grave." She was speaking, but her mind was somewhere else. "Presuming that's where the body is buried. It's the body that's important, not the grave site."

A little creeped out by the monologue, I waved it off. It could probably be either for all we really knew. "Yeah, the body. The ultimate personal effect." I tried for a bit of humor.

"Then I think I know what the ghost in the basement wanted." I looked at her in surprise.

She started to tell me about how the voice seemed to be telling her to contact the dead and get their story.

"Why?" It seemed to be a lot of trouble to go to.  
She thought back. "From what he seemed to say, it's about Lyle house. Something they can tell me."

My mind tried to race about everything it could mean, but the fever made it hard. "But those bodies have been down there a lot longer than Lyle House has been a group home. And if this ghost knows something, why not just tell you himself?"

"I don't know." She tried to think. "He said... He seemed to be saying that he couldn't make contact with them himself."

Well, makes sense. Kinda. "Then how would he know they had anything important to tell you?" Instead of getting angry that I wasn't just following along with the dilemma, like Simon would, she seemed happy to have someone to bounce ideas off of.

She looked thoughtful and finally said, "I don't know." Well, of course you don't. The ghost hasn't told you yet. "However they got there, I'm pretty sure they didn't die of natural causes. You're probably right, and it's completely unconnected to us, and this ghost is confused, losing track of time. Or maybe he wants to solve their murder." She stood up. "But, whatever he wants me to hear, I'm going to listen. Or at least try." That was very well-put. I was almost proud of her for being so intelligent about the whole thing. She may be nice sometimes, but less like Simon that I gave her credit for. Not to say Simon isn't smart. He's just... Simon.

"Hold up." I stood. "We should take a flashlight. I'll grab that. You get our shoes."

She gave me that lottery winning smile, relief so evident on her face that it was amazing. She was glad someone would be with her.

I'm kinda glad it's going to be me.


	22. Wait

Here you guys go. A chapter one day after the last. See? I haven't forsaken you guys. And now, The real question: Should I write a new chapter explaining the feelings of Derek during the time that Chloe is separated or should I just tell you to read Kelley Armstrong's version and call it a night? It's up to you. So far the tally is: One for Kelley's version, Two for my own. So let me know how you think. Post if you feel either way, and if you feel really strongly, post twice. I will take it all into account and let you know next chapter.

BookNinja: Thank you. I do try for my Derek, but a lot of what he does just rolls off my fingers and onto my keyboard. I'm sure that your POV's are amazing and if there are any you would like me to read and review, let me know :) SoullessWolfGirl98: AWWW... You think I'm better than Kelley sometimes? Well, now I'm blushing. Thank you :) I told Derek and he says he loves you too. KakiTenshi: Yeah, boybrain and wolf brain are kinda shouting, but Derek basically ignores the troublesome two. But I think you'll agree he's starting to notice somethings. Silver-Zenko-Kitsune: Welcome! And I hope to go all the way (hehe that's what she said) through the series. As long as you read the top and the things I direct towards you, I'm good with you not reading the rest. There are some things that are sometimes important in the first paragraph though... And about the Derek's Point of view, one of my reviewers told me that it helped them get into the story faster and helped them grasp who was talking and I've done it ever since. I also think that it helps you know when all the A/N stuff is completely done, since sometimes it goes alittle further than two paragraphs. So, I know it's weird, but I think I'll keep it, just so the people who skip my A/N can find the starting point of the story easier. Lol DoarfthXx: Just wanted to say, I would never have guessed that in, Oh... three million years... so points for originality :). 16 years of sunshine and rain: Welcome! And I'm glad you enjoyed my story. So far, the side for me creating my own is winning so we shall see. .X I know. I want them to love each other already! But sadly, this project is not for me to change the plot. If you're looking for a little spice, then The Dream Forgotten was written by me as something to ease my citrusy readers qualms and will be added to next book. So you can look forward to that :). Kelley: I know. I feel bad, but that's life. There may be a day or so break from writing again because of a stupid Driver improvement class (Sadly, I am an awful driver (I am the driver that is the reason men say women can't drive) and law enforcement noticed this sad fact. Thus, Driver improvement class which will require me to take eight tests. So, FML. But after that I should be back on board. PatronusCharmBabe: Welcome! And Thank you for enjoying my story! I'm glad you think it's funny. Conceited Pixie: I getcha. I'm prolly going to make it kinda shadowing the story. This one was kissing, next book will be bases, one two and maybe three. And third book... well... That's what I meant by shadowing. Just gettign more... intense both love wise for this story and lemony goodness wise for The Dream. I hope you're excited.

Don't forget to tell me what you would like for the separation!

Derek's point of view.

Chloe was afraid of the basement. She wanted nothing less than to go into that basement. Her face stared up at mine when I opened the door for her, fear and worry plain on her face.

"W-w-we should ask the ghost some questions before we go into the crawlspace, r-right?" It was a good idea, on top of being something that may soothe her.

I nodded roughly. That was the plan of action. I started down the stairs, hoping it would make her freak out less than having her go first. We entered the laundry room and she seemed to be calmed by it's normal appearance.

I stayed standing and leaned against the dryer, where I could see if anything went wrong anywhere in the basement.

Chloe sat cross-legged on the floor. She gave me a timid smile and then closed her eyes, focusing on the ghost. _Please, do not raise the zombies again, _I prayed.

When Chloe opened her eyes only ten seconds after she had closed them, I thought she was going to tell me she had forgotten a step or something, but when she said, "He's here," I was blown away. Isn't it supposed to take much longer, especially if you're not using a ritual, and even more so, especially if you are a brand new, level one Necromancer?

She continued talking, her ear cocked in the air, trying to hear the ghost. "I can't... really hear him. He keeps... fading out. It must be the meds. I stopped taking them after you gave me that jar. But they must still be in my system."

She stopped, listening. I could see it on her face when she was listening to him.

"What's blocked?" She asked the entity. I listened closely, trying to figure out what was being said.

"A spell to block ghosts?"

I leaned forward and tried even harder to hear. "Did he say a spell's blocking him? What kind?

She stopped, listening again.

"It's important?"

She listened again, and then frowned. "He says it's not important." She sighed. "I can't hear half of what he is trying to tell me."

I muttered under my breath that this was impossible when an idea struck. "Tell him to say one word at a time. Repeat it until you get it and say it back. It'll be slow, but at least we won't miss-"

My muscles started to slide around under my skin, rippling as it crawled and contorted. What the hell?

"What the-" I said, before a growl escaped. I started to try and work the muscles to make them stop moving like that. Chloe was staring at me, at my arm, watching the muscle work and move.

"Just as long as you don't rip through your clothing and turn green," she said, a corner of her mouth raised.

"What?"I said, trying to place what she was getting at. "The Incredible Hulk." I said, remembering the awful movie Simon had rented. "Ha-ha. Incredibly Stupid Movie, more like." Then seeing her eyes still on me, I felt weird, like a freak show. "Ignore me and get back to your ghost."

She started the very long process of trying to understand the ghost. There would be a question from her and then the ghost would respond, which sounded a lot like silence on this end. Then after an ever-changing length of time, while he repeated one word, Chloe's eyes would light up and she said it back, excitement clear on her face.

It was kinda cute. In a little kid kinda way. Yeah, like a little kid. That's all she was. Simon's girl who acts like a little kid. There we go.

After the normal questions, like who was the ghost, why couldn't he talk to Chloe, and why he cared about Chloe, we got to the real questions.

The ghost said he only knew that the bodies were murdered supernaturals. He was sure that this was important to Chloe.

When Chloe explained this to me, I was upset, tired, and ready to tell this whackjob ghost that he was obviously just making shit up. "But they were just skeletons and dried up flesh. Like mummies. Whatever happened to them wouldn't have anything to do with us, here, now."

Chloe's head cocked as she listened to his response.

"Maybe," She said, relaying his words.

"Maybe?" I threw up my hands, done with trying to figure out the cryptic words of the ghost. He didn't know anything. Or maybe he was right. Either way, talking to him was proving pointless.

Chloe listened to the ghost while I paced, annoyance fueling my limbs. Then she asked, "I haven't. Derek, have you ever heard of Samuel Lyle?"

From listening to Chloe's slow communication with him while I was pacing, I heard the ghost say he was the original owner. Besides the fact that the name obviously stuck for the house, I had no clue who he was. "How would I know the guy who built this place a hundred years ago?"

"Sixty," Relayed Chloe from the ghost.

"Whatever." I said, prowling the basement. "Does he even know what year this is?"

Then Chloe said, "He said that this guy Lyle was a supernatural. A sorcerer.

I stopped, taken aback. "The guy who built this place was a sorcerer?"

Slowly, Chloe said the words, "Dark... Magic... Alchemist... Experimented... on... supernaturals." Then she shifted in her place, uncomfortable with the words she had repeated. "you think that's how the people in the cellar died? This sorcerer, Lyle, experimented on them?"

I ignored the question. It was too... close to home. Chloe didn't want to hear my answer. "How does he know so much about this guy? He followed you here, didn't he?" I asked, suspiciously.

"Everyone knew... In Buffalo. All... Supernaturals... Knew... where..he...lived...And stayed...away...or...didn't." Chloe repeated.

"I _still_ don't see how any of this is connected to us."

"Maybe. Maybe not. Need to ask." Chloe conveyed.

"Fuck." I said, anger spilling over. This was ridiculous. Why were we even trying with this? Why did everything he say freak me out a little more? How could any of this have anything to do with us?

I went over and hit the wall, looking at Chloe and knowing that Simon and I were supernatural, too. It was all too-easy to think of the connections, but why? How? I didn't even feel the hit, but the pain pulsed slightly as Chloe walked over, quiet and upset. "Go to bed," She said. "You're probably right. I'm sure it's nothing-" Oh, I wish we could just walk away, but what if this ghost was right?

"I'm not saying that. I'm just saying... A sorcerer built this place sixty years ago; There are supernaturals buried in the cellar; and now we're here, three supernatural kids. The group home is named after him. Is that significant? Or is it just named after the guy who built it? It seems too much to be a coincidence, but I'm just not getting the connection." I started telling her my fears, and looking into her face, I hadn't stopped. Damn. What the hell? I was usually so good at keeping my feelings to myself. More and more lately I had been spilling everything on my mind out. I must be sicker than I thought.

She looked worriedly at me as she said, "I can do this. Go back."

"No, he's right. We need to ask. I just... I feel like crap and it's making me cranky. But we need to do this." I started towards the crawlspace, again leading the way. This time, it was both to ease Chloe in the room and to make sure she didn't try and force me upstairs. I couldn't leave her in the Zombie room. Hell, no.

Besides, half of me is sure that we may have to dig again tonight. So why go upstairs?

When we were both in the crawlspace, I sat in a corner, trying to stay out of the way.

"How do I avoid what I did earlier? Returning them to their bodies?" She asked the ghost, and then paused. And paused. And paused. "Hello? Are you still there?"

Her head cocked as she heard the ghost. It told her to stay calm and go easy. Then it said her powers were too strong.

"My powers are too strong?" She smiled. Then the ghost talked again. "Your... Age... should...never..be able...to..."

And then she stopped relaying. Again, silence filled the space. "Hello?" She asked.

"Too...Soon..." She said, as the ghost started speaking again. "Too much... too..." It stopped again. Chloe and I stared at each other, waiting. After a minute, her eyes grew wide.

"Wrong?" she said, fear entering her voice.

"What's he saying?" I asked, crawling to her.

"Something about my powers. That they're... Wrong." She paused, listening to the ghost. "Unnatural?" She whispered.

Her face was so full of fear, so upset that I got pissed. What the hell was the ghost_ doing_? He did want her to speak to them, right? How did he think that scaring the hell out of her would accomplish that? "Don't listen to him, Chloe." I urged. "So you're powerful. Big deal. You're fine. Just take it slow."

She nodded, slowly, fear still naked on her face. She told me the ghost had apologized, but I still was mad at the stupid motherfucker. Somethings do not need to be said. I was relieved when Chloe told me he was going to watch "From the other side." The ghost thought that maybe what happened was that he had accidentally given her a power boost. He told her he would be there if she needed him.

Chloe let out a big breath after he had left, relief flooding her body. She looked at me and I started to go back to where I had chosen to sit in the beginning of the crawlspace event. She watched my retreating figure like a kid afraid that when their parent closes the door, something will come out of the closet. She placed the flashlight on the ground and the light shone on the mounds we had buried earlier.

Then she closed her eyes, mind concentrating on the dead.


	23. Disapproving

The over-whelming majority would like me to write my own version of the story. Which, because you guys wanted it, I will be happy to do. I'm not going to even read Kelley's version. I read the last paragraphs of it a month ago to try and see if it would end where I would be able to use it, but besides that, I have not one clue what goes in it. You guys will be able to tell me honestly if you like hers or mine better. I will have no hard feelings. For this chapter, though, read, review, enjoy. You all know the drill.

Sweetdreamz: I would just like to thank you for being here this whoooole time. You're always reviewing, even when it's a short little snippet of good feeling and love. Thanks for being here and reading and taking the time to review, even if I don't always comment on it :). SoullessWolfGirl98: Awwwwwwwwww... thank you! I'm so glad. There is probably nothing that anyone could say that is nicer than that comment. I'm glad you joined now, too, so we could enjoy the process :). Clereklover: I'm sorry! It just seemed like a good stopping place and I was getting tired... lol here's the continuation so you can be less angry with me lol. Kakitenshi: I know! Derek is so dense. But it's really cute! That's why we love him. Xx: Thank you for putting a name even though you were just putting a quick review. I love being able to respond to people and names make that possible. Oh and if that was your first time reivewing, Welcome! Bookninja: I will review tomorrow. I'm not usually a song head, but if that's the one you recommend, I'm sure I'll like it :). Bertle: I'm so sorry for you're loss. It's okay if you don't review everyone. As long as you come back eventually :). I'm glad I get to explain everything from the book for you. There are so many parts where I'm like, Well, that was random.' and now I get to make up reasons for it.

Derek's POV

We sat in silence for a long time. It seemed longer, but in reality, it was probably only five or six minutes. But five or six minutes with the bodies you buried only hours ago seems much, much longer.

Suddenly, Chloe jumped and grabbed the flashlight off the floor. I had been watching the graves, hoping to God that I wouldn't see any movement. The sudden lack of darkness made me almost jump, if I hadn't seen Chloe grab the flashlight out of the corner of my eye.

The light moved to an empty space. Or at least that's what I could see. After a few seconds, it swung to another empty spot. Two ghosts.

"I just w-wanted to talk to you." Chloe stammered, talking to whatever presence had come. She moved the light back to the first spot, seeing something I couldn't.

There was a pause and Chloe shrank back a little. "I didn't m-mean-"

She stopped, cut of from an unheard voice. It was kinda like seeing someone talk on the phone. You hear only one side and you see the response from words you can't hear. I could gather that the ghosts were extremely unhappy about being forced to talk to her.

When Chloe was cut off, there was a little while where the ghost was yelling at her and I could see her shrink back. Then she tried again. "I didn't mean-"

Again, she was cut off. Chloe shrank back even further, then, after about ten seconds of listening to the entity, she sat up quickly and said, "Wait!" Then she continued staring at the spot where the ghost must be. "You're-" She paused, searching for the right word. "- a witch, right? What happened to you here?"

A small pause. Murdered, I'm guessing the ghost said.

"Was it because you're a witch?"

As soon as the word 'witch' left her mouth, she jumped and flinched away from the ghost.

I tried to read her body language to determine what was being said. She leaned in, angling her body towards the ghost. She flicked her eyes back to the second ghost at one point, then switched again to the first. They were telling her their story obviously. She was so interested in it that I almost asked what was being said.

Finally, she asked, "What about me?" A small pause. "Does this have anything to do with me being here? Now? There are more of us. Supernaturals. In a group home." She said, leaning further towards the ghost, hoping for the answer.

Whatever the ghost said, Chloe did not like it. Her face dropped into disgust and fear. "N-no. N-nothing like that."

A pause and the ghost seemed to try and get away again. "Wait! I need to know-"

Chloe jumped as the ghost yelled at her. She scrunched down again, trying to hide from the yelling.

Then she said, "Am I in danger?"

A small answer must have been given before the ghost faded away, then Chloe turned to me.

"W-well." She said, "Let's get out of this hole. Right now." I nodded and we went down the ladder and back to the laundry room. This time, she led the way quickly.

When we were in the middle of the laundry room, she stopped and started dusting off her clothes. "Mission accomplished, but nothing gained. Except more questions." She said, voice calm now that we were back in the laundry room. She looked at me, worried. "Now you can finally get back to bed."

Remembering the half- dreams from earlier, it seemed like the last thing I wanted to do, especially after just being back with the bodies. Who knew what horrible stuff I would dream up now, if I could even fall asleep? "Doesn't matter. I won't sleep," I said.

She looked horror-struck. "Because of this? I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"I wasn't sleeping before you got me up." I walked to the sink and pulled off my shoe. "This fever or whatever..." I dumped the dirt that was in it down the drain. "It's making me edgy. Restless." I felt my muscles start to shift again. I could almost tell when it was about to happen now. The spot kind of felt hotter right before. I decided to tell her one of the things that could be the reason for the spasm. "Part of the problem is I'm not getting enough exercise. Tossing a ball around with Simon just doesn't cut it. I need more... space. More activity. I think that's what's causing this." I tried to massage out the spasms, like runner's do with leg cramps. It didn't affect them.

"Could you ask for workout equipment? They seem pretty good about that stuff."

Was she crazy? Or did she not think that through? I looked her way, trying to keep myself from giving her the look that comment deserved. "You've seen my file. You really think they're going to buy me a set of dumbbells and a punching bag?" Imagining the look of mortification that would pass through Mrs. Talbot's face was almost comical. I looked around the basement and thought, _Well, no one else is up now. _I looked through the small window above the sink. It was dark outside and the night air would feel good. I looked at Chloe, finally. "You tired?"

She gave a small smile. "After that? No."

"How about some fresh air? Get out, go for a walk?" This would be good for me and we could look around the neighborhood for tomorrow. Besides, maybe I could try and not be an asshole and have Chloe actually want to try and come back to get me after they found Dad. That'd be nice, not to be the annoying guy all the time.

She laughed. "Sure, if there wasn't the small matter of an alarm system standing in our way."

Well, duh. "I know the code." I said, trying to get all the dirt out of my hair.

"What?" Her face was so shocked.

I gave her a look. "You think I'm going to push out Simon to leave and not know the security code?" She frowned, not liking my answer. I continued despite it. "I can get us out, and we really should do a walk around, check out escape routes, hiding places." Hopefully this would appeal to the intelligent part of her that she showed every so often. She seemed to hate unanswered questions so this seemed like a perfect lure. "I don't get to go on many field trips, so I haven't gotten a look at the neighborhood."

She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. She looked like the picture that should go next to the word 'disapproving' in the dictionary. "You can walk out anytime? Get that exercise you need? But you never have?"

Uh, well... I tried to thin of an excuse and failed. "Never thought of it-"

She raised both eyebrows. "Of course you have. But there could be an alert when the alarm is turned off. Or a record of it being disabled. So you've never taken the chance." Bulls-eye. How did she do that? "But now we should." I almost let out a sigh of relief. At least she won't squander the chance she has to learn the best way to escape. "If we get caught, well, everyone already thinks we're fooling around. We'd get in trouble for sneaking off, but not like Simon and I would if we were caught running away."

Damn. She had taken it further than I did. Maybe it's because I knew us fooling around was so ridiculous that my mind couldn't wrap around the idea of using it to my advantage. I looked at the girl who kept surprising me and scratched my chin. "That's a good idea."

"And it never crossed your mind." She thought I had thought about it? Well, I wasn't about to prove her wrong. I stayed silent, which she took for wrongdoing in the matter.

She sighed, and started to walk away. Oh, shit. "Chloe. Hold on. I-"

She almost grinned as she looked back and said, "Coming?" as she started up the stairs. It made my cheeks warm up for some unknown reason. Maybe I was happy that we were becoming some facsimile of friends?

I followed her up the stairs two seconds later. I tried to keep my eyes off her body as she walked up them.


	24. Stars

Here ya go. I don't really have much to say up here. Lol. Read, review, and enjoy.

To all my reviewers: I am actually like a few hours late for bed and I'm going to be a bear in the morning, but I had to finish this for you so I'm going to post this now and add personal messages tomorrow. Love you all though.

Dereks POV

As we went out the door, the night air rushed around me. It felt so right to be out here. Inside, I had felt too cramped. As I left the yard, I smiled. This was the first time I had been out of the yard in months. Chloe and I walked in silence around the block, her looking all around her and me trying to keep my focus on the area around us, but my attention kept wandering to the stars, to the trees, to the sounds of the night.

"These houses are really big. This must have been a really rich neighborhood once." Chloe said, drawing my attention from the big dipper.

I didn't say anything, but looked at the houses. They were old and big, with fences around every backyard. I could see lights in the west, showing where the businesses in the area resided. The wind blew the smells of the factory from the east.

Chloe mostly led us. I was too distracted by the stars to care. Part of me was just so... happy to be outside. It was weird, but I guess the shackles from the home were tighter than I had known.

Chloe started to lead us toward the businesses. "The lights. That means something like a main street. So stores."

I nodded. "Simon said that it was all older businesses. He said there were alleys and other places you guys could hide out in." We continued walking until we were looking down the first street that was commercial. There was a hardware store, a candy shoppe, a barber, and other normal businesses. Nothing quite fancy, but it wasn't a slum. They would be safe walking down the street here. They could hide here if a search started.

We started back down the street toward Lyle House. "When you get to that business area, you'll be home free. If you can't go that way?" I waved east, to the area in front of us. "Go there. It's all industrial. I'm sure you'll find an abandoned warehouse or two, if you need to hole up for a while." Lyle house lay much closer to the factory than to the businesses. It was about 16 to the businesses and one block and seven houses to the factory. The choice was easy.

I looked around the night sky, so happy. Why was I so happy to be out here? The relief of being out here was starting to seem like too much. I looked at Chloe. "Will you remember all that?

She raised her eyebrows, turning her head to me. "Can you say it again? Slower? Maybe write it out for me. With pictures?"

I gave her a look. Unnecessary sarcasm. "I'm just checking, okay? It's important."

She looked at me out of the corner of her eye, keeping her head forward. "If you're worried we can't handle it, there's an obvious solution. Come with us."

Immediately, a frown snapped onto my face. "Don't," I warned.

She turned her head this time. "I'm just saying..."

"Well, don't." I said, walking fast, making her have to jog to keep up. This was not open to debate, not open to a vote, not an option.

After a minute, Chloe said, "Simon's worried about you." Oh, for fuck's sake.

I stopped almost mid-stride. "Yeah?" I spread my arms, showing her my full size, my ability to move, and my obvious ability to take care of myself. "Do I look okay to you?"

"No," she said, to my surprise. "You look like a guy who should be in bed, nursing a fever, not prowling-"

Hey! "I'm not prowling. I mean, where am I? On the street, right? Blocks from the Lyle House. No cop cars are ripping down the road after me. If anything goes wrong, I can get out." Hell, I was the reason we were out here now. Or did she forget? "Do you really think Talbot and Van Dop could stop me?" The image of them trying to was fucking hilarious. I could simple walk past them, or just pick them up and move them. Not a difficult task in the slightest.

"The question isn't whether you _can_ escape. It's whether you _will_." Chloe folded her arms.

Damn. She was too smart, dammit. I thought about her words. Would I leave? It matters. Am I being transferred? Am I being punished? Am I being doped up like Tori?

What would it take to make me leave, to decide that it was worth it? To endanger others?

If my life depended on it? Yeah, I would leave. In a heartbeat. Dad could try teaching me more techniques to curb my anger and we could go to a shrink that could help that wouldn't be here.

If I was going to be transferred? I might. Maybe. If I thought Simon wouldn't be able to get me out once I went in.

"Derek?" Chloe asked, interrupting my scenarios.

"Yeah."

"Yeah what?"

"If I'm in danger, I'll get away and find you guys. Okay?" Now, our definitions of danger could be different, but...  
She nodded, satisfied. "Okay."

The rest of the walk to the house was in silence. It wasn't awkward or anything. We were just in our own worlds.

As we crept into the house, Chloe whispered, "Thanks for letting me get a lay of the land."

I looked at her. "When you're out there, you need to get away. First try. They'll have you and Simon and probably me in a real mental institute the minute they catch you guys. You can't hesitate, okay?"

She nodded, looking annoyed that I was lecturing her again. She turned and started towards her stairs. "Goodnight, Derek." She whispered as she started up them.

"Night."

I made my way to my bed, ready to just sleep.

The walk had been just what I needed. It made me feel much better being in the night air.

I turned in my bed, trying to get comfy. Why was I so at ease out there? I knew I was coming back. I can't have been that excited to see some stars.

I was starting to drift asleep when I remembered the wolf from my dream. As I saw it's image, a terrible thought crossed my mind.

_What if I'm turning?_

This early was preposterous. Maybe in a year, if I was an early bloomer, maybe. But sixteen? Unless I was a regular person that got bitten, there was almost no way.

But...

The fever and feeling sick were new and shouldn't happen to me because I am a werewolf. Feeling that comfortable in the night, feeling so much better just stretching my legs? Let's not forget the fact that my muscles were moving.

My mind had blocked this as being an option, because I was so young. But now, all I could see was links and ways that this was true.

There is no worse time for me to change. I was in a group home. On red alert with the staff. Oh, god. Oh, shit. If I changed before Simon left and he found out? He would never leave. No matter what. Which made it all the more bad. After he left, I could probably find some place in the yard, or escape to alley somewhere to change.

Fuck. I had to tell him to leave as soon as possible. Tomorrow. Hopefully, I can wait two days. Or at least until he is on the way.

Oh, shit.

_There's no way that I'll be able to sleep now,_ I thought. And for the most part, I was right.


	25. Handle

Er... so I never got around to update the comments to reviewers. I'll add it below. So some of you may have two comment sections. Sorry guys. Okay, so I was going to update this yesterday, but winter wasn't done with Michigan, so long story short, my power went out and I was lefts sans laptop because I had forgotten to charge it. I hate snow. A lot. Oh it's cute right up until new years eve. Then it get's real old, real fast. Anyhow, here's your chapter, mes petites. Read, review, enjoy.

Kelley Miley (Ch 23): From the way Chloe describes it in the book, she never actually tells him what went on. I have not a clue as to why,b ut I just write for what I read lol. Kaki Tenshi (Ch 23): Oh, then you will love the awakening and reckoning. I'm not sure when Derek will know he's fallen in love, (I suppose when the timing feels right) but there will be strife for Derek and jealousy going both ways and... Oh lord now im excited to write it lol. Conceited Pixie (CH23) : I think he didn't. I think subconciously he did, but we all know that as smart as Derek is, he only sees what he wants and this, sadly, didn't fit in his box for awhile. I had planned on making him realize it sometime before, but I thought that chapter 23 was a little early for Derek. TragicRomanceWriter (Ch 23: I am so confused. What don't you like about it? What do you think I am doing incorrectly? I'm not understanding what direction you think I am taking it. Bertle (Ch23) Actually, if you look above to conceited pixie's comment, her and I were discussing the same thing as you asked. :) I will def. Read hers after I write mine, but not before. I don't want to accidentally copy. Kelley Miley: Thanks. I thought it would make more sense that way too, plus we know our dense Derek wouldn't realize it until his mind tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Um, hello? Obvious glowing answer over here." KakiTenshi: Ah, im sorry for not responding to reviews. It was so late and my eyes were doing that thing where they close on their own... And I wanted to give you guys your chapter, soo... I'm glad you reviewed anyways :) Thanks for being so excited you couldn't hold back. Sweetdreamz: Yay! The most important part of this is making him likeable. Otherwise, Derek is just not as fun to read about. Lol MayaLewis: Welcome! And thank you very much! I'm glad you like it and here is you're update as per your very expressed wishes :). ConceitedPixie: Just gotta say... Awwwww. Thank you. Frobz21:Welcome! And I'm glad your reviewing now. Please continue to do so. Mostly because I'm a vain little fucker, but also because your feedback helps shape my story. I love all my reviewers and all my readers, but my reviewers have nmaes so it makes it easier lol. Thank you for everything you said. Kissed by a demon: If only it were so...

Dereks POV

The alarm woke me up, but my body kept me from moving to turn it off. I was exhausted. I have no idea what time I fell asleep, but it hadn't been a restful or long sleep. Every part of me ached. At least the fever felt mostly gone.

Simon sprang out of bed and turned off the alarm, yawning as he crossed the room. I stayed on my bed, eyes heavy. I could sleep. Just pretend that I hadn't heard the alarm. I closed my eyes, letting exhaustion take over.

Simon threw a pillow at me, and my eyes sprang open.

"HEY!" I growled.

He laughed and ducked when I threw it back.

Ug. He was just so chipper this morning. It seemed worse than usual, but that may have been the sleep deprivation.

"I just didn't want you to be late for your shower." He threw the pillow back onto his bed and stretched.

I sat up, hearing the bed creak under me from the movement. I looked around the room bleary-eyed. Ug. It was so fucking bright.

I needed to take a shower to try and wake up or I would probably throw someone through a wall sometime today.

I got up from the bed and went to my dresser, grabbing my clothes out.

Simon was grabbing clothes out from his dresser when I turned to look at him.

Shit. I had to tell him about the late night walk and everything that went on last night. He would feel left out. He got jealous pretty easy. And bored. So, there's nothing that could make him feel more alone than Chloe and I contacting the dead and going to explore the area in the middle of the night.

Let's not forget that I had to get them out of here tonight. I had to tell him something that would make sense. Well, let's see there's so many reasons... I listed them as I walked to the bathroom to shower.

I walked into the bathroom and set down my clothes. As I did, I felt the now-familiar muscle spasms. I growled, annoyed. I stalked over to the bathtub and turned on the water. I angrily yanked off my clothes and shivered in the cold air. I jumped into the shower as soon as the water warmed up.

I was starting to feel almost human, and pretty clean, when the spasms started again. My arm felt like it was going to crawl right off the bone. It was starting to hurt a little, nothing to make you cry and scream or even say ow, but pinpricks were accompanying the movement.

I rinsed the soap suds off, and thrust my hand out to turn off the water. As I turned the handle, I hadn't checked my strength or my annoyance had made it grow. When I started to turn the handle, I hadn't stopped where the handle is built to stop. The handle snapped right off in my hand.

I simply stared down at it for a minute. Fuck. I kept staring. Fuck. I looked at the place that it used to rest. Fuck fuck fuck.

Resisting the urge to throw the damnable thing, I set it down extremely carefully on the sink, using all of the calm down tactics that I had been drilling into my head for months. I grabbed the towel and calmly wiped myself off, still thinking calm relaxing thoughts while counting. To what number? To whatever number where I felt like I wouldn't harm anymore fixtures or any of the walls or really anything. Oh, fuck. Oh, fuuuck. Fuck. Shit. Fuck. I stared at the handle, sitting on the counter, looking so sad.

That's just what I need. Another fucking thing to make everyone look at me like I am a fucking MONSTER. Who snaps off FUCKING handles in bathtubs? I wasn't even FUCKING angry when I did it. GOD FUCKING DAMMIT. FUCKING HO BAG SHIT-FACED SON OF A BITCH WITH A FUCKING HANDLE!

Okay, admittedly, that last though didn't make sense, but it did make me feel better. I started to think calm thoughts. An ocean was in front of me. I could hear the waves. Slowly, they go up the shore. Slowly, they go down. Calm. Must calm. I managed to pull on my clothes and by the time I was done, I felt better.

Well, now I was awake if nothing else.

I looked at the handle, unsure of what to do. Should I tell Mrs. Talbot? What do I say at that point? _Here's the handle from our bathtub. Can you fix it?_

I decided to take it back to the room and bounce ideas off Simon. I had to tell him about last night anyways. And tonight. A lot of night time activities to update him about.

Dammit. He was going to pout about last night. Do I look happy about galavanting around at who-the-fuck-knows in the morning? No, but it had to be done. Well, the walk wasn't bad. It helped to be outside. And the ghost thing had gone as far as it could, so no need to wonder if we could have gotten more answers. And maybe Chloe didn't hate me _quite_ as much as she had. And maybe I didn't think she was quite the ditz I had.

Okay, she's not a ditz. She's just nice, but she does think things through. Which is more than I can say for Simon some days.

Hopefully, today would not be one of those days. I needed him to prepare to leave and help me figure out how to fucking get Mrs. Talbot not to freak out from the broken handle. I picked up the handle and threw it up a foot in the air, catching it easily. Okay, time to talk to Simon.

I went into our room, handle in hand. Simon looked up as I entered, finishing the last touches on his bed, now neatly made. He followed my gaze to the handle in my hand.

We both looked at it. I looked up at him.

"Is that-" He began.

"Tub's broke." I put the handle on the desk. I didn't really want to discuss the matter.

"Huh. Well, bro, I guess I'll tell Talbot something." He walked over to the desk and picked it up.

He examined the broken plastic and I laid down on my bed. When I got comfy, I said, "So, we gotta talk."

I heard him set down the handle. Suspicion thick in his voice, he said, "Okay. About what?"

How did I put this? "Last night, Chloe and I talked to the ghost in the basement."

I quickly explained what happened. Leaving out the sick part. He looked upset that he had missed out. I saw his face get more and more unhappy as I talked.

"Ug. I always miss out on the cool stuff."

I gave him a look. "I'm exhausted. If I would have been able to sleep, I wouldn't have gone out at an ungodly time either."

He made a face. "Is that why you're so sunshine-y happy this morning?"

I ran my fingers through my hair. "Whatever."

"Grump."

I gave him another look. He was just racking them up today.

"So, time for breakfast?"

Eh... I still had things to talk about with him, but food... It was like a siren's call, especially when I was so exhausted. Food or a discussion I didn't want to have?

Eh, maybe I should tell Simon and Chloe together. Yeah, that sounds like a plan. A plan that means we get to go downstairs and eat.

I gave Simon a nod and got up from the bed. "Yeah. Let's go." We were about to leave the room when I looked back at the desk. "Don't forget that." I nodded at the handle.

He sighed. "You have to go and break the house, don't you?" He smiled as he went back and grabbed it. "What am I gunna tell Talbot?"

I started down the hall. "Tell her it was loose already."

"And a young werewolf was cranky and broke it the rest of the way."

I glowered and went down the stairs.

I heard him laugh, following me down.


	26. Sugar

Hey, my darlings. Ugg... I hate writing these chapters leading up to the good ones. As much as you want me to write it, I want to write it. But I am trying to be disciplined. Trying would be the operative word. Here's one more chapter towards the good stuff. I think the next chapter is the money chapter though. So, read review and enjoy and I will try and write you an awesome change chapter asap. Much love, guys.

Silverymoon: Yeah it was only mentioned in passing in the book, but it would be a big deal to Derek so I felt it had to go in. Plus it was a chance to get to know Derek's feeling's better and show the relationship between him and Simon. I had always wondered about it and this was my best guess for it. Bookninja: I'm sorry you were having a crappy day. I'm glad however that this made you feel better. P.S. Love the use of two unrelated swearwords together in the comment. Music to my ears. Kelley Miley: Ug, it is so hard to write him as not annoying or a ditz. I do try however. It's just... I like Derek. In a book, if I like one character, usually the others fade to the background for me. If people write Simon as annoying or a ditz, they don't feel bad when Derek wins in the end. That's why I put these brotherly moments in. I try to make him a real boy, not just a facsimile. How do you think I'm doing? If you feel I need to try a little harder to make him seem not annoying, let me know and I will. Vivalajuicy: Welcome! Thanks for enjoying my chapter. I agree. Derek is totally the best. That's why I can write him so lovingly lol. Something something: Ah! Good. I'm glad you think I got the grumpiness well. I was kinda just sitting there for like ten minutes staring a t my screen while writing it, wondering if it was grumpy enough. Marlene: :( I don't think it was useless. This would be something that would really upset Derek, thus becomes important. Plus every so often Derek and Simon need to have some bonding moments. Missin-him- I'm glad you enjoy my use of expletives. They are so much funner when they are original. KakiTenshi: I dunno when I'll have him fall tbh. I'm just going to let it happen. That's how all my chapters go. Lol you shouldn't read this in school. I use a lot of swear words. In all caps. Anyone would be able to walk by and see them lol. And I'm sorry you were almost in tears trying to hold back. But I am glad at the same time. I want you to laugh out loud. Or at least have to fight the laughter :) Bertle: Yay account!. See? Easy peasy. And you get to know as soon as I update! Kissedbyademon:Swear words make me happy too. All the swear words I put in here are ones I use or have used. My friends all love it when I get pissed. Hokupaniolo: I'm trying! We are getting there, I promise. I'm going to continue all of the books on this story, so no worries, you'll have plenty of reading material. Conceited Pixie: Ah, thanks. I try to be funny so I'm glad it works with your sense of humor as well. Phantomofthefic: Welcome! And I know exactly what you are talking about. I want them to just kiss already! But sadly it's not to be, at least not for quite a while. Meridian Capulet: Um... What does map mean? More slang I don't understand? Anna: Welcome! And Aww... Thank you! Thanks for loving my writing. And I'm so glad you love Derek still. I was worried in the beginning that Doing this make take some mystery from Derek, but if you guys are still team Derek then I'm so glad that I did this :). Clereklover: I'm so glad you love him swearing. He swears more than anyone in the book so I feel that this is what he would do in his head. :)

Derek's POV

The girls had eaten before us, so when we went downstairs, it was empty of them. I ducked into the kitchen to grab some juice and milk. I was thirsty and both sounded good. By the time I had them both in hand, Chloe must have come downstairs. She and Simon sat at the table talking. I hadn't been listening for the conversation so I had no idea about what.

As I neared the table, Simon went to grab one of my glasses. I just put them on the table and said, "Get your own."

Simon gave me a look, slapped me on the back, and started for the kitchen.

"Are you okay?" Chloe whispered.

I looked at the kitchen door, making sure Simon was through and hoping he hadn't heard.

Chloe looked unhappy that I didn't want him to know. She gave me a look, but I gave one right back. I wasn't backing down. They had to leave and whether he thought I was sick or figured out that I was beginning my changes, he wouldn't leave

"I'm fine." I said, quietly as I looked into her face, showing her that I was better. "Tylenol finally kicked it."

She started to examine my face and I ignored it, starting to dig into the oatmeal. God, it was so delicious.

After a few bites, I looked up to see her eyes still on my face. "Do I pass, Dr. Saunders?" I murmured, trying to ease the inspection.

She narrowed her eyes, then took a breath, settling back into her chair. "I guess so."

I started to add more brown sugar into my oatmeal. Not exactly healthy, but certainly delicious. "Some kind of reaction, like I said." I ate my oatmeal, spooning out the biggest bites that I could. Ah, my stomach was so happy right now.

But I noticed Chloe was quiet and when I glanced up in between one of my spoonfuls, she was looking into space, not seeing the chair that it looked like she was looking at. I finished my third bite and stared into my bowl, trying to word my question without freaking her out. "What's wrong?"

From the corner of my vision, I saw her stiffen. "I didn't say a word." Well, yeah. That's the worrying part.

"Something's up. What is it?"

She frowned at me. "Nothing." Hmm... Even I knew that 'nothing' never really meant nothing when a girl said it.

I looked up from my bowl, catching her gaze in mine. "Yeah?"

Her eyes met mine and she said firmly, "Yes." I could tell it wasn't the truth, but I knew she wouldn't tell me. I'd have to tell Simon and hope he could get the truth from her.

I snorted, letting her know I didn't believe it, but just settled into eating as Simon walked into the room.

"Anyone seen the chore list this morning?" Simon said, walking to Chloe and handing her a glass of orange juice. Always thinking of others, our Simon. I frowned a little, though I was unsure of why. Must be the mention of chores. He sat down and started to reach for the sugar bowl. I quickly grabbed it, certain that I'd need more. I started to spoon some sugar on my oatmeal.

Simon looked at me, and I could see he was wondering what Chloe and I had talked about while he was gone. He was getting almost... jealous.

Jealous? Psh, of me? Right.

Simon shook his head, realizing the ludicrous idea was... well, ludicrous. He picked up his juice and took a drink and continued. "We're on leaf-raking duty. Van Dop wants the leaves from last fall cleared..."

I stopped paying attention, and moved my eyes back to Chloe. She saw and looked away, knowing I knew something was wrong. Why couldn't she just tell me? She bit her apple and ignored me for the rest of breakfast.

After breakfast, we examined the chore sheet. There was quite a bit of work for all of us. I decided it would be best if I threw our laundry into the washing machine before I went out to rake, that way, when we were done, the bedding would be, too. I went upstairs to strip the bed.

I took the sheets and pillow case off my bed then moved to Simon's. My eyes fell onto a picture he had of a wolf. He drew them sometimes, joking that they were of me one day.

This wolf stared at me and I stared back. Shit. I can't be changing. It was so early and I didn't even have Dad.

How was I going to change into a wolf? I was a huge human being, let alone a wolf.

I had heard that it would hurt. Dad hadn't sugarcoated it for me. He had prepared me in the best way that he could. Just in case we got separated.

It was going to be torturous. After I changed, things wouldn't get better either. I would have to change at least once a week, more if I wanted to maintain good control. And to have to worry about being unable to control it, while I was under supervision almost all the time?

I shook my head, trying to dispel these thoughts. I would be careful. I wouldn't get upset. I already was working on curbing my emotions, so this would be no different. It was bad if I changed into a wolf and it was bad if I threw someone across a room. The stakes would be no different.

Failure was not an option.

I couldn't leave. Not after what I did.

I was stuck.

I brought the laundry downstairs to the laundry room and started the load.

As I exited through the door, I listened for Simon and Chloe.

"... She's way more street smart than me." Chloe's voice floated over the yard and I followed it.

"And me. It's just... I'm sure Rae's cool, but I wouldn't have argued about it just being the two of us. There's a lot I want to talk to you about." Their backs were to me. I watched as Simon leaned toward Chloe.

I frowned as I walked towards them. My stomach felt all weird and I briefly wondered if I put too much sugar on my oatmeal.

Nah. Sugar in any amount was just good.

"What's this about Rae?" I asked as I drew near.

They turned and Simon said, "Shit. Anyone ever tell you your sense of timing really sucks."

He had said that to me a few times before, only once before this instance had it been because of a girl though. I gave him the same response that I usually did. "That's why I don't play drums. Now, what's up?"

Chloe looked down and said, "Rae wants to go with Simon and I."

I raised my eyebrows.

"She overheard us talking last night when we got back from the walk."

"Shit." I ran my fingers through my hair. I had been too... feverish to hear her. I couldn't call it sick anymore, now that I knew what it really was.

Another wrench in the gears.

"There's more." She said, looking down.

I just looked at her, waiting.

"Rae thinks that she's a supernatural, too. She saw Simon push Brady without touching him. A... Knock-back spell?" She looked to Simon for confirmation on the name. He nodded. She returned her gaze to me. "She figures you're a supernatural, too. She knows that I can see ghosts."

I nodded slowly. She had been there when Simon used his spell against Brady, but I didn't think she would be able to guess what had happened. Everyone knew there was something up with me, but most people assumed it was puberty that cause the incident and all my quirks. And Chloe had had her secret told during her first dinner. So, of course Rae knew about her.

Chloe continued, trying to tell me everything as quickly as possible. "She thinks her powers would be something to do with fire. The reason she's in here is because she got into a fight with her mother and when she pushed her, her mom said she burned her. Rae says she pretended to have been holding a lighter when it happened, but she hadn't been. And then with Tori saying she burned her... Well, she thinks she has powers."

"But there's almost no way!" Simon said, pacing. He tried to think it through. "She's, what? Fifteen? If she was a fire half-demon, she'd have done something much more than leave some red marks." He faced Chloe. "I don't think she's lying or anything. I think she just wants to be... special. She sees you and you see ghosts and then she sees me push Brady without touching him... Anyone normal would want to be special like us. Think of all the movies and books that are made with super powers and stuff. People want to be special." When Simon chose to be, he could be really intelligent about things.

Chloe nodded slowly, understanding the logic.

I didn't say anything, just turned the thought over in my head. Who had ever heard half-demon not being able to do almost any damage by fifteen? Then again... I looked at Chloe. When did Necromancers just start seeing the undead out of the blue?

So far, we knew that Simon, Chloe, and I were supernatural. Liz was something too, according to Chloe's description of the night that Liz was sent away. If Rae was too...

And the bodies in the basement were another worry, too. The house had dead bodies in it that just so happened to be supernatural?

"But Tori and Peter?" Chloe asked.

Simon stretched his muscles out. "Well, as you may have noticed, Tori is here for mood swings. Peter was here for some kind of anxiety disorder." He shrugged. "Even if we and Rae and Liz were supernatural, those two wouldn't be."

"Rae has to go with you." I said, interrupting their thought process. "If you don't take her, she might tell as soon as she notices Chloe out of bed. Or even sooner, if she expects an answer soon.

They both nodded. Chloe looked relieved that Rae would be going. She must have felt guilty that she might be left behind.

"But..." I started. "She can't know any specifics on powers. And we can't tell her our plans."

Chloe opened her mouth to say something.

"At least for now." I said, cutting off her words.

She nodded again. "I'll go tell Rae."

As she walked across the lawn, I turned to Simon who frowned. "Don't you know not to interrupt a moment like that?"

I shrugged. "I heard something about Rae. It's plan time, not kiss-y face time. You guys will have all the time in the world once you leave. Rae's gotta sleep sometime."

He gave me a look. "That's not the point."

I watched Chloe shut the door behind her as she walked inside.

Shit. I forgot to tell them they were leaving today. It was the prefect opportunity! Fuck. Oh, well. I'll tell Chloe as soon as she got back from telling Rae.

Everything was not in the original plan, but, hell, this new plan seemed to be working. Who was I to complain?


	27. Knocking

Aggg... Sooo I won't even tell you guys all the shit that has been going down these past days. Technical difficulties, Drama with the love of my life, drama with my family... Ect. But to make up for it here is three chapters all at once. Yay! Go ahead and review them all at once or seperately or whatever you would like. Read, Review, Enjoy!

KakiTenshi: Well, I'm glad you have friends that are willing to argue with you about the book. That's a good friend :). Mizzy Sissy: Welcome! And I'm sorry about the delay. Lot's of stuff went down. Starting with fan fiction being unable to allow my uploads, to internet failings, to my boyfriend being an asshole and giving me some serious angst. Don't scream! :) Ricca: I plan on writing for the other books. Phantom of the fic: Hey... I have a group message at the top. It makes it easier to get big points across. Bibliophile102: Welcome! Thank you! I;m glad you enjoy this Fanfic so much! ArcAngel1224: Welcome! And thanks! I enjoy swearing too! It's great. BookWorm40: Welcome! Thank you! I'm glad you find Derek realistic. I'm really glad you don't find this story annoying. I hope you enjoy these next chapters too! MarchForLove: Welcome! And I'm glad you like it. I hope it was worth the wait.

DPV

Everyone was ready. Everything was packed. Still, worry picked at me.

It didn't help that as the evening drew to a close, my fever returned. Fuck.

Everyone else stayed downstairs to watch a movie as I told them I was really tired because of trouble sleeping the night before. Instead, I lay in my bed itching all over. I wouldn't sleep again tonight. My limbs were starting to tingle in an uncomfortable way, like a thousand little pin pricks all at once. I would change, either tonight or tomorrow night. I could feel it was close. My lack of experience with this sort of thing made it impossible to narrow down.

God, how was I going to hide this from Simon? Last night, the worst part was while he was knocked out. This was just as bad as the worst part and it was hardly dark.

Shit. I was probably changing tonight. I had to hold it together. I had to get Simon the hell out of here. He couldn't know.]

How the hell was I going to hide this from the nurses? Once a week at the very least, more if I wanted to maintain control. All that after the nurses would be on alert when they found Simon and Chloe.

How was I going to even begin to do this?

I shook my head. It didn't matter. I could not go. It was non-negotiable. It's better if I'm in danger than anyone else.

A flash of Chloe's frightened face when I threw her steeled my resolve. I could not hurt anyone. No more. Never again.

I heard a tiny knocking and looked around. A mouse or something? Maybe I was having even more bionic hearing than usual. Then, I could hear a definite knocking. It was coming from my door. Simon wouldn't be knocking.

Damnit. One of the nurses must have gotten past their misconceptions of me and was coming to check on me.

"Derek?" Chloe. "It's me. I brought water and Tylenol." It was just Chloe. I struggled to pull the covers off of my feet. I had thrown them off at one point, the fever heating me too much.

I unhooked my feet from them and got up as Chloe said, "I'll leave it here."

I opened the door as she was bending down. The water in her hand looked like salvation. I was so feverish. She straightened up, and examined me, clearly displeased with what she found. Shit, I must look bad.

"Are y-you?"

"Be fine." I interrupted. A sudden onset of dizziness made me blink hard, trying to push it away. She immediately held out the glass, noticing my sudden discomfort.

I took a swig of the water and as soon as the icy water touched my tongue, I felt a bit better. I should have brought some water up here with me, but honestly, I didn't think about it. Too sick, I suppose.

"Thanks." I said, feeling the cold water traveling down my esophagus. It warmed as it went down, until I couldn't feel the chill of it at all.

She handed me the Tylenol. She looked down, in thought, then looked back up at me. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Plan. Must. Go. On. "Good enough."

I leaned against the door, trying to seem casual.

"Maybe you should take a bath. A cold bath for your fever. Baking soda would help the itching. I could get-"

"Nah, I'm okay." Just go downstairs. I don't need to be babied. Can't let Simon or her figure how fucked the situation is.

"If you need anything..."

"Just rest." I assured her. "Go on down before someone notices."

She paused, unhappy about leaving me so sick, then turned and started down the hall.

"Chloe?" She turned. "Nothing to Simon, okay? About how bad I am?"

She looked down. "He knows you're not feeling well." She looked up, determination gleamign in her eyes. "You really should tell-"

"I'm fine." I was in no mood to be out of bed, trying to convince her that Simon shouldn't know. I didn't need to stretch my patience this close to the first partial change.

"You're not fine." She took a few steps back towards me. "He's going to figure that out-"

Enough. "He won't. I'll take care of it." I took a step into the room and grabbed the door. I raised my eyes to Chloe's worried face as I shut the door. Good-bye, Chloe.0


	28. Spasm

DPV

The moon was up and the house was quiet when I knew. There was no more hiding this. The itchiness had progressed to pinpricks which now had progressed to full force pain that moved in waves across my arms and legs. My muscles were bunching and contorting and moving and they weren't stopping anytime soon. I felt my body preparing. It would begin soon.

I looked up to the clock. It was two-thirteen. Shit. Simon would be up soon. Would he leave without seeing me here? I had to hope so.

I took the alarm clock off of the desk and placed it gently on Simon's pillow, praying he wouldn't wake up. His breathe didn't even respond to the new addition to his bed. With this here, Simon would wake up on time no matter how tired he was. Besides, he would know who had moved the clock. Hopefully, that would put him at ease.

Maybe I should write a note. Something to make sure he leaves without worry. But what would I say?

A sudden muscle spasm caught me full force in the legs, jerking my body to the ground. I fell as quietly as possible and bit back the moan of pain. I had to get out, now. The note wasn't an option.

I made my way out of the room, moving as quietly as I could. The entire house was dark, but I could easily see. Werewolf enhancements made a lot of sense in this situation. I cautiously went down the stairs, praying a muscle-spasm wouldn't have me fall down them.

When I reached the bottom unscathed, I had to stop and try and calm down. I was panicking about being caught, falling down stairs, having Simon refuse to leave without me, and not to mention having anyone find me mid-change.

I took in a breathe. I had to calm down or I was going to change right here. I could feel my pulse racing through my veins, causing the body tremors to quicken, the pain waves to increase. My breath came fast when I didn't check it and it felt like my blood was boiling under my skin.

My stomach turned and convulsed, followed by an aftershock of pain that spread through my torso. Shit. I had to get out.

I took one deep breath in and one deep breath out. _Calm the fuck down! _Not that mentally screaming at myself would help, but I had to do something. I took another breath in, then released, slowing the process this time. My heart stopped jumping quite so much. The pain, the convulsing, the everything bad about the change was still there, but each deep breath I took took an edge off of it. Soon, I felt able to move without moaning in pain or falling.

I slowly walked to the door, hand on the wall to steady myself in case the convulsions returned to bring me to my knees. I made it to the door with out any incidents, though my arm felt as if it was separating muscle from bone. I almost opened the door, pain making me forget about the alarm, when I saw the little red light blinking next to the door. The light was on the alarm and it blinked so you knew it was up and armed.

I opened the cover for the numbers and carefully pressed the numbers, moving slowly. I did not want to see if this particular model let you try the code a few times before the alarm went off. After thirty seconds, I punched in the last number and hit enter. The light blinked fast three times, then switched to green. A tiny beep sounded in the air, too quiet for me to worry about anyone hearing.

I grabbed the handle and my hand convulsed. I lifted my hand, making sure I didn't accidentally crush the knob. When the convulsions settled, I grabbed the door and twisted, pulling it open quietly. I barely registered the dull groan of the un-greased hinges as I felt the night air softly blow on my face.

The cold night air slid across my face and my too-hot skin felt instantly soothed. Not all the way better, but such relief after such an awful night was so starkly contrasting that it felt as if it was all the way better. As I breathed in the air, my mind seemed to clear from all the dizziness and pain. For a second, my body stopped it's revolt. I stood in the doorway and just felt the air, the night, the grass and trees and everything.

Then my body started to convulse again, slightly less vigorously than it had before. I sighed. Nothing was a cure all.

I stepped on to the step and closed the door behind me, moving it slowly and quietly. What time was it? How long did all of that take? Simon would be up soon and I had to hope he wouldn't look for me long.

I stared out into the night. Where should I go? Should I leave the yard? Where the hell would I go and be sure no one's dog would find me mid-change? Was there a park around here? I wasn't sure.

A warehouse? Abandoned and fairly secluded. It-

My legs dropped, muscles expanding fast and then shrinking. I landed hard on the grass. Shit. My stomach burbled uneasily. I could feel organs and muscles in my stomach starting to work into over-drive. All of me was now shifting around, trying to change. My body screamed in pain. The knowledge that I was too close to the house kept me from crying out in shock, but it couldn't block my throat from moaning, lips shut tight. Oh, god.

My body was on fire as I tried to crawl towards the shed on the far side of the lawn. I had to get further away. This would be loud. And messy, if my rolling stomach and my father's stories were telling the truth. I had to hide it from the nurses the best I could. I had to get behind that shed before the change. I crawled, but my limbs were disobeying me. They would expand while I was trying to move them or they would simply give out. The muscles moved under my skin, trying to morph my human limbs into canine ones. My body screamed at me in the process, burning and the feeling of ripping ensuing.

As I neared the shed, I tried to remember what Dad had said. This would be exhausting. Try to pick somewhere I would rest for awhile. I would lose my lunch. Don't fight it. It would hurt worse than anything I had ever felt, especially when I changed the first time all the way. He had told me to remember that this was natural for me, that the pain would pass and I would be fine. I had to be tough. That my clothes would rip with the muscles contracting and expanding, so I shouldn't wear anything important to me.

Well, I didn't wear jewelry and my shirt wasn't a favorite. It could be thrown out. I really didn't want to get anymore undressed than my boxers and a t-shirt, even being just in the yard. Then I looked down. My shoes. Those had to go. The nurses would notice if my only pair of sneakers were missing, or shredded.

A sudden shudder made me stop where I was right in front of the shed. My bones shifted, a new unpleasantness to add to the mixture. It was a sharper pain than the muscles. My bones were shifting apart and together, pulling muscles and slamming against other bones. As the first wave of motion passed, I grabbed the shoe in my hand and pulled it off as I crawled.

I had to get back there, now. I would be past thinking very soon. If that last bout with pain said anything, my mind would be unable to care about anything. I reached the spot behind the shed and stopped, muscles screaming. I pulled off the other shoe and then my socks, throwing them behind me. I'll worry about them later. I faced the fence, on all fours, feeling my muscles contort under my skin.

I could feel sweat dripping down my skin and it slid into my eyes, burning slightly. I hardly noticed because the bones started to moved and compress again. This time, the muscles in my stomach joined in, the pain too much for my control. A moan escaped me, the pain taking form in sound.

My organs felt as if they were being squished and thrown around. On top off all the pain, I could feel nausea begin to work its way in with the rest of the discomfort I was feeling. I could feel myself getting ready to puke, that knowledge that I hated every time I ate something bad that my stomach rejected. My esophagus burned and my stomach felt like a rock, solid and unwelcome in my stomach. The rest of my organs continued to twist around, moving and growing and shrinking within me. If I hadn't gone to the bathroom not to long before I had decided to come outside, I would be afraid of losing more than just my lunch.

Suddenly, a lurch moved it's way up my torso, shooting my back up and then forward as my stomach rejected everything inside of it. Puke shot from my mouth to the grass in front of me, spewing from my lips. I shuddered as it came, one wave followed by another. After the two, my body stopped rejecting it. The nausea remained for a few seconds, then began to die down. The rest of my body took that as a sign to go back to agonizing pain. The muscles shook and my back stretched as my shoulders tried to twist forward. Wolves were built nothing like humans. This was not something I should be able to do.

There was a pause, then another twist of muscles in my shoulders and hips. Everything moved and shifted and stretched and contracted and the pain was awful. A moan shuddered through me again, though some over-ride part of my brain kept it low and quiet.

My body started to gag and retch. No nausea yet, but the dry heaves came anyways. I coughed and gagged, trying to be quiet while still allowing my body to do what it needed to.

"Derek?" A quiet voice. I stiffened. It came from beside the shed. Too close. Close enough to see. "It's Chloe."


	29. Don't

DPV

"Go away." Oh, god. Not an audience to this. I was going to contort and throw up and maybe scream if this pain got worse. No one could see this.

She stepped closer. "Simon's gone. I convinced him to go ahead while I found you."

Ah. Thank god for small miracles. If Simon found me, there would be no chance of getting him to leave. With Chloe, the fear should have her running soon. I hoped. Another spasm hit me, causing me to grip the grass and dirt hard. My back seemed to twist and a small moan escaped before I cut it off. She had to go. Now. "You found me. Now go."

"Do you really think I'd leave you like this?" She stepped forward again, now firmly behind the shed. I kept my head down, not sure if my muscles had been moving enough to cause changes that would show, but not wanting to chance it. "If you're throwing up, that's more than a fever. You need-"

Fuck. She wouldn't leave if she thought I was sick. If she knew what I was, she'd run, but I'd prefer if she left before I had to show her. "Go!" I said, cutting her off. I felt the muscles bunching again, preparing for the next onslaught of pain. She staggered back, shocked by my inhuman snarl.

Pain ripped through me, muscles turning and moving. The pain increased and I moaned again. A sharp twist in my back caused a whimper. If I wasn't too far gone, I would have been embarrassed. I stared down at my arms and watched the hairs on them grow and shrink in waves, like the rings in a lake when you drop a stone in it, except they were all over my body, in random patterns.

"Derek, I-" I could here her start, but my back stretched, spine joining the foray. It stretched and slide, pain racing up my back. When it subsided, I relaxed. My body was mostly quiet, a sign of impending doom for me.

I tried to regain my breath so I could tell her to leave. "Please. Go." My voice was not my own. My vocal cords must have moved and lengthened.

"You need help-"

"No!" Leave, please leave.

"Simon, then. I'm getting Simon. I'll be right-"

"No!" This time, I almost shouted. I looked up at her. Her eyes widened as she saw my face, and fear danced across her face. Shit.

I pushed my head down as my body sprang back into action with no warning. My lungs were shifting now and I coughed, body trying to clear an airway. Then, my back screamed, pain slicing through me faster than a knife. My bones seemed to jump away from each other, causing my body to rise and every part of me to stiffen. I could hear the bones cracking, trying to move and change. My hair was growing and then shrinking back below my skin, echoing the pain. My fingers had started to change. I could see they had elongated and nails had grown. I clawed into the dirt, pain screeching through me.

I threw my head back as a new pain burned my shoulders and neck. The muscle was shifting completely forward, then it moved back. I moaned through my teeth, trying to quiet the howl that was trying to escape. As it twisted back, my body gagged once again, and I dry heaved towards the grass.

"Derek?" She waited until the gagging subsided, then inched towards me. "Is there anything I can do?" I purposefully turned my head away.

My body shook and I barely gasped out a, "Go away." My breath was ragged and everything hurt. Natural, my ass.

I was shaking and I couldn't be sure if it was from being freaked out or just from the convulsions and fatigue. I slid my eyes towards Chloe. I didn't want her to leave me here in the grass, hardly able to keep from screaming. I felt so alone and dammit, I was scared. I was not prepared for this. It hurt and it was torturous and it wasn't stopping. "Dont." My arms convulsed, making me pause mid-sentence. "Go."

"I can't leave you here. If there's anything I can do..."

Please don't leave me here alone. "Don't." Don't leave. I wasn't asking that anymore. "Don't go."

I lifted my head just a little, trying to gauge her reaction. She was freaked out, eyes wide. I could smell her sweating and could smell her fear.

Suddenly, everything came crushingly back. The nausea, the muscle-spasms, and the shifting of my insides resumed as if it had never taken a pause. It consumed all of me and I would have screamed if my stomach hadn't started rejecting what was left in it. It spilled from my lips and I'm sad to say I shook from exhaustion and pain as I tried to allow my body to do what it needed to. My throat ached and screamed with every wave. I felt like I would choke if I heaved one more time, but my body kept shoving it up and out.

Near the end, I felt a cool hand on my arm. I stiffened in surprise, but the muscle contractions and heaving hid it. My entire body rioted. I could feel my arms banding and separating under Chloe's hand. My body was shifting, shoulders tearing themselves forward, arms twisting, hips shifting, the bones of my my upper legs and hips colliding with each other as they tried to move into the correct position. This torture was complete.

My body kept riding the waves. There was no way there was anything left in my stomach, but still it came. I just wanted to die already. Shoot me. Please. This was not natural.

Then, with one last heave, my stomach was emptied and the nausea subsided. My body stopped its change. I could feel my limbs in their wrong places, my body part-wolf, but I was too exhausted to really give it much thought. I test my arms, slowly releasing the grass from under me. I tried to catch my breath.

Then, I couldn't take it any longer. I slumped to the side, careful to drop to the side with no vomit, and curled up. Chloe's hand fell away. God, I hurt. Every part of me was strained and uncomfortable. I covered my face from Chloe and moaned low as I felt my muscles relax for what was really the first time all night.

"Should I-?" She stopped trying of something. "Should I get Simon? Will he know what to-"

"No." I said, stopping her. He couldn't know. My voice came out growled, the vocal cords in my throat had elongated and grown. I laid there for a moment. Then I said, "It's over. I think. Pretty sure." I rubbed my face, feeling the features where they shouldn't be under my hands. Why did this happen now? "Shouldn't have happened. Not yet. Not for years." Chloe was silent watching me. She had to get out of here. Go find Simon. "Go. I'll be fine now."

"I'm not-"

"_Chloe_," I said sternly. She had to listen. "Go. Help Simon. Tell him I'm fine."

Instead of risking being cut off again, she simply replied, "No."

Annoyance whipped through me. Why did she never listen? "Chloe..."

"Five minutes. I want to make sure you're okay."

I didn't like it, but it made sense. I allowed my body to relax again. God, that was awful. Completely. I cannot believe that Chloe just saw all that.

And yet, I was glad she was here. It would have been somehow even worse if I had been alone.

Chloe's voice came out from in front of me. "See you _did_ rip out of your clothes. Hope you didn't like that shirt 'cause it's toast."

I smiled, grateful she was trying to cheer me up. "Least I didn't turn green."

"No, just..." She let her voice fade away. I opened one eye and saw her face lost, not understanding what had just happened.

The back door was thrown open in the house. I sat up fast, my muscles screaming at me for it after. Chloe started to crawl towards the house, angling for the corner of the shed. I grabbed her leg, unwilling to let her get caught.

"I'll be careful." She assured me. "I'm just getting a look."

I kept my hand on her leg, unwilling to let go. She crawled forward as low as she could. She peeked around the corner of the shed. "A woman." She whispered softly. "I think it's Rae- no, too skinny. Ms. Abdo, maybe?"

I tugged her lightly back. Her skin was warm under the leg of her jeans.

"Go. I'll boost you over the fence. Climb the next one and-"

"Who's out there?" called Dr. Gill.

"Dr. Gill." Chloe whispered to me. "What's she-?"

I shook my head. She had to go before she was found and couldn't escape. "Never mind. Go!"

"I know someone's out here. I heard you." Dr. Gill's voice rang out over the yard.

Chloe looked down at me and a look crossed her face. It was her determined look.

Chloe grabbed one of the shoes I had taken off and kicked off one of hers. She then pulled from my grasp as I tried to figure out what the hell she was doing. She darted to the fence next to the shed and started through the narrow opening. I tried to scramble up and catch her, but she was through before I got anywhere near. Shit.

"Chloe!" I whispered as loud as I dared. "Get back here! Don't you dare-"

Chloe didn't even slow.


	30. Chaos

Okay, beloved ones. I'm sorry for leaving you all. Life was hectic and insane and all that, but I should have tried a little harder to update. But now that it's summer, I should be back on track with my updates. I'm going to be trying for everyday again. So here's to a new start. I'm already writing the next chapter and tomorrow it will be updated hopefully. So please don't hate me! Since most of your comments were begging me to come back (I feel so guilty) I'll just respond to those who had questions. Next chapter, I will begin responding to almost everyone again so don't forget to... Read, Review, and Enjoy! 3

Arumlove- Welcome! And Peter left in chapter 8 or Monster. It's mentioned very briefly at the beginning of the chapter. And what does LJP stand for? I swear I feel so out of the loop lol. Moon-called princess: Thanks. I do try to come up with Chapter titles that mean something in the chapter lol. And thanks for letting me know. I totally forgot about that so I will try to keep that in mind as I write. Missmimsi: I do believe that I will continue after the books, but it will be under a new story heading. I'm not sure if I should write under Derek or Chloe. I enjoy Derek's mind so much that I will probably do it with him though. If you want pointers, I'd be happy to give them. I'm fairly new to this myself though so I don't know what to say lol. If you need help feel free to message me and I'll get back to you :).

Hope you enjoy ;)

Derek's Point of View

A moment passed with Chloe out of sight. Then another. Panic raced through me. What the hell was going on?

Then I heard the crackle of twigs on the far side of the lawn. Suddenly, I felt my muscles start to shiver. Shit. I was starting the Change back. Fuck.

I heard Chloe. "D-Dr. Gill. I- I was just out g-getting some air." I heard some low pats, like someone was jumping up and down. My arms gave out from under me as my muscles shifted hard. This would be much quicker than becoming a half-creature.

"I don't think that's yours, Chloe." Dammit. My shoe! My back shot up as the muscles crackled, killing any irritation I felt. The pain was just as bad as it had been, but it seemed worse after the short reprieve.

A pause, then "Whoops. Guess I grabbed the wrong one when I came outside." She was doing a wonderful job. I'd have to watch that girl. Too smart. My muscles were rippling now, faster and faster. My body seemed more ready to go back than it had to start the Change.

"Where is he?"

"Who?" Her voice rose to a squeak.

"Derek."

"Derek? Is this his? I-I haven't seen Derek since dinner. Is h-he out here, too?"

"Oh, I'm sure he is. Long gone, I suppose, with Simon and Rae. Making their escape while you stand guard and provide a diversion." My eyes widened. Holy fuck. My muscles started to really spasm, stretching and moving, trying to go back to where they usually did.

"Wh-what?" Goddamnit. Run Chloe. "E-Escape? N-no. Derek and I were... He knew the code so we came outside to be alone and … you know."

A step, probably from Dr. Gill. "Pick up where you left off Friday afternoon?"

Oh, god. I slammed my lips down, covering the moan as my shoulders twisted back to where they were supposed to, as my bones stretched and collided. My hands were claws again, twisting in the dirt as I tried to keep quiet.

"Right."

"Do you really think I'm going to buy that, Chloe? Girls like you wouldn't give Derek Souza the time of day, much less toll around in bushes and crawlspaces with them."

_Way to kick a guy when he is down, _I thought, annoyance breaking through the pain. A sudden jerk of my insides made me hiss quietly, too quiet to be heard, but still stupid to do. Then it occurred to me. She didn't believe we did anything in the crawlspace. What the fuck? My head jerked up at the thought, but too quick. It shed pain down my back, causing me to whimper once before my brain could stop it. Luckily, it seemed no one heard it.

"B-But you caught us. Friday. You're the one who said-"

"I know what I said, Chloe. And I know what you really were really doing in that crawlspace. I found your new friends." Shit. Oh, shit. Everything in me was turning and shifting, but I tried to get up and I fell back down. My body wasn't mine yet. I had to get to Chloe. I tried to get up again. Change back. Change back! My muscles moved faster, as if my panic could fuel it to go faster. "What did they tell you? They were his, weren't they?" Oh god, Change back. I felt several pops as bones shifted right were they were supposed to. My muscles were still quivering, but I was able to get up. I started around the house. I had to get to Chloe _now_. "Samuel Lyle's subjects. Did they tell you his secrets? His discoveries? I'll make sure no one knows you ran away. I'll say I found you asleep in the TV room. Just tell me everything the ghost said." I reached the side of the shed and started through, working through the last of the muscle contractions.

"I-I can't talk to ghosts." I reached the other side. They were on the other side of the deck. I started to run. Chloe's arm was in Dr. Gill's grasp. I watched as Chloe jerked away. She hit the deck and Dr. Gill flew at her, trying to grab her again. She was leaned down towards Chloe, who was rolling out of her reach when I jumped the railing. My instincts propelled me forward. I had to get to her, to help her.

Dr. Gill turned, eyes wide. I landed right in front of her. Now her focus was on me. My eyes fell on Chloe and I was about to tell her to run when I saw Dr. Gill flip out. Her arms flew up and she shrieked. She fell back, trying to get away from me. She started to turn, but then tripped over her feet. That's when I say her scrambling for her pocket. My first instinct, no matter how ridiculous it sounds, was that she had a gun.

I dove at her, pinning the arm in her pocket against her. She dropped something in the grass that I couldn't see as we fell. Then I heard a sickening thud.

I crouched next to her and immediately checked her pulse. I heard Chloe run over to me.

I felt a flutter, then another. Her pulse was steady, normal.

"She's fine." I heard the relief in her voice. "Just unconscious. Come on. Before she wakes up."

This had changed so fast. Dr. Gill knew. She knew about the bodies. That's why she smiled in the basement. She was completely crazy, though.

I lightly grabbed Chloe's arm. She pulled away. She jogged lightly over to my shoe. I went behind the shed and grabbed my other shoe and her shoe, as well as my socks. I turned and went back to Chloe, holding her shoe in my hand.

"Trade?"

When our shoes were on, I looked at Dr. Gill. "Simon's waiting at the factory. We have to warn him." Chloe said, looking at me, worried. This was becoming very bad. "They know about the escape."

I gave her a nudge towards the side fence when she looked toward the front yard. "The road won't be safe. Cut through the yards."  
She stepped towards the fence twice before looking back.

I glanced at Dr. Gill. There was no way I could stay now. I had to go, I had to protect Simon. I couldn't stay, no matter how far I was from being ready. "I'm right behind you. Now _go_!"


	31. Car

Hey, it's late night but I haven't been to bed so I count this as same day. Here's my new chapter. Read, review and enjoy.

KakiTenshi: BREATHE!. Hope you like this one just as well. Arumlove: I'm glad I'm back, too. Sorry for the long ass wait, but ill try and win back my readers. WiccaChick and Maia: Welcome! I hope you like my chapters.

Derek POV

Chloe started over the waist-level fence, trying to climb it. The noise rattled through the neighborhood. Fear made me reach out and grab her waist, pulling her upwards and swinging her over the fence. She was so light that it was easy. I then took a step back and jumped over it. As I hit the ground, a siren started. Chloe scampered behind a playhouse that was nearby and I followed.

"Police?"

"Can't tell." Was there a difference in sounds that sirens make? I didn't know the difference if there was one.

We stayed there for a moments, Chloe's breath loud in my ears. I forced myself to focus on the sirens as she said, "Dr. Gill knows about the bodies. When I raised them, she must not have been holed up in her office, like we thought. She knows I can contact the dead, and about Samuel Lyle, and-" She seemed to be freaking out, unable to stop the words from coming out. Only now was she really processing what had just gone on.

"Later," I said. She paused, and shook her head, allowing her panic to disappear. The siren reached out street and kept going.

"Did it stop at the house?"

"I can still hear it," I said, shaking my head. "Now go."

She got up gracefully, staying low and moving fast.

I helped her over all the fences, setting her down at the ones that were waist-high and setting her at the top of ones that were tall.

At the fourth yard, I whispered, "There are three more yards until we hit the street."

"What?" She said, not turning as she crossed the yard, quietly.

"There are seven between Lyle and the street. This is the fourth. Three more to go." I picked her up and put her on the other side of the fence.

She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. I jumped over the fence and we went again. Chloe let me take the lead.

A noise. A car was on the street in front of us. Just sitting there running. Shit.

I put out my hand, stopping to listen. Chloe hit my arm, stopping hard. I listened, trying to see if this car would be bad for us, or just someone up late. I heard someone walking on a sidewalk, talking to the person in the car. Chloe grabbed my shirt, a silent request for information. I ignored her, trying harder to listen for information. I couldn't hear what they were saying. "I hear a car idling. Someone's out there."

"Where?"

I waved in front of me. "There. On the street we need to cross." I hear the person step again. I held up a finger. "Footsteps. Someone's talking." I could here a woman's voice now. "A woman. She's whispering." I concentrated, trying to hear words. It all slide together. "I can't make it out."

"Do you recognize the voice?"

I shook my head. "Stay here. I'll get closer, see if that helps." I started closer to the house, settling near some bushes. I could hear a bit more clearly from her, plus I wouldn't pick up on any sounds from Chloe. Or smells. I sniffed the air, trying to place the people. I still couldn't hear the words of the conversation. The tone was calm, though. The air smelled like flowers, grass, and cars. I could pick up a little of the smell of exhaust, but it was too far away for anything but the lightest whiff. Then I picked up on a person. Chloe. I whirled around and saw her creeping towards me, trying to stay hidden.

"Sorry," she whispered, and kept coming, slower now.

I waved her back, trying to concentrate. She didn't even pause, but kept coming. I ignored her and tried to listen to the voices. Too low still. I sniffed the air again, trying to find a scent of person that wasn't Chloe. I could separate all the smells in the area from each other, but the only person I smelled was Chloe.

I tried once more and as I turned my head, I saw Chloe watching me mystified. I frowned.

"Can you recognize the, uh...?" She blushed, unsure of what to say.

"Scents," I said angrily, pushing the word out. I hate people. I am not a freak. I shouldn't be looked at like I am one. I gave her a look, daring her to say something. "Yes, I can track scents. Like a dog." There I said it so she didn't have to.

"I didn't mean-" She stuttered, unsure of herself. A tiny prick of guilt went through me. Why?

"Whatever." I looked away. Goddamnit. I didn't want any of this to happen. My plan is officially blown to shit. "I suppose you figured out what I am." I looked away from her, trying to see over the fence.

"A werewolf." She said the word plainly, almost as if it was nothing, but I could see the look on her face out of the corner of my eye. Fuck.

I let the word linger. Trying to get past the moment, I sniffed the air again, still unable to smell who it was.

"So what... happened back there?" I winced. "You were, uh.."

I suppose she deserved the truth. She did stay. "Changing." I finished for her. I leaned out, trying to hear a bit better and pulled myself back. I bit my lip, wondering if I should say anything else. The next words slid out of my mouth without permission. "It's not supposed to start until I'm at least eighteen. That's what Dad thought. Last night, the itching, the fever, the muscle spasms- that must have been a warning. I should have figured it out." I stopped myself from telling her the whole truth. I didn't need to let her know that I did. Besides, I should have figured it out sooner. I really had to work on these moments where I just told her too much.

A breeze tickled my face, coming straight from where the car was. I could smell the exhaust and the smells from the engine. Under that were the scents of two people. I had never smelled them before. "No one I recognize." That didn't necessarily mean we were in the clear. I pointed to back fence. "We'll climb the back fence, go through that way, and loop around. Hopefully, they'll have driven off by then."

We went through the yards quietly, and fast. When we reached the road, I looked down it. No one was anywhere to be seen. I took a deep breath in. Some dog marked it's territory earlier, people passed by here earlier, hours ago. But there was no recent activity.

I nodded to Chloe and we continued jumping fences and entering yards until we reached the street. There was an SUV down the block, it's silver color ghostly in the night air. The lights were off, and a woman leaned against the window, her mouth moving as she spoke quietly to the person in the car.

Shit. "We'll have to make a run for it. Hope they don't notice us."

"You think they're looking for us?" She said, peering down the street, eyes scrunched.

"No, but-"

"Then if we run, it'll look suspicious."

Huh. "It's three-thirty in the morning. We're going to look suspicious anyway." I glanced down the street. The likelihood that they were just two night owls talking was greater than anyone actually looking for us. If we ran, they could call the cops thinking they were just being good Samaritans. It would suck to be brought in just for being over-paranoid. "Fine. But any sign of trouble? Follow my lead."

She rolled her eyes, then straightened. "Yes, sir."

I rolled my eyes at her little kid words. I looked around and saw a weeping willow tree in the yard behind the yard we were in. Time to see if this would work.


	32. Hands

Hey partypeople, how is your life? Here's a new chap. I'm going strong on my everyday thing so YAY! Short one though.

Marlene:Ag! I know right? Bertle: I've missed you too! I missed you all. I felt guilty. Silver Kitsune- This was my pain for the last month or so. Not just exams but life in general. Ug

Derek Point of View

I picked up Chloe's tiny body and set her down under the tree and carefully pulled myself over, trying to keep quiet. Chloe stared up at me, eyes wide.

I came around her side, so I was near the street and nearest to the SUV. With me nearest to the SUV, it would look more like we were adults. That's what I told myself at least. If we walked and pretended to be some couple, it might actually seem normal. At least normal enough that no one would call the cops.

"We're going to walk and talk, okay? Normal couple, late night walk. Not hiding anything."

She nodded and I grabbed her hand. It was small in mine and hot in the cool night air. My stomach did a little flip, probably from all the fear of being caught, as we started to walk slowly across the street.

"Okay, talk," I said, trying to think of something to say and coming up blank. My skin seemed to burn in the night air, my heart hammered in my chest. The walk was the first time it had been quiet enough to hear it. The butterflies in my stomach swirled. Too much running and nerves will make anyone's stomach freak out.

"So when you... change..."  
What? She wanted to talk about my Change? I laughed, not expecting this topic of conversation.  
"You change into..."

"A wolf." Simple and easy. I pushed us into the street, heading perpendicular from the car.

"Wolf?"

"You know. Large wild canine. Commonly seen in zoos." I kept the words light as I felt blood rush to my skin. Why were we talking about this again?

"You change into...? But that's not-"

"Physically possible?" I laughed. "Yeah, my body was screaming the same thing. No idea how it works. I guess I'll find out later." Thinking about changing again made me shiver, the motion running up my spine. "Much later, if I'm lucky. We're heading for the street to the left. The factory is just up-"

"It's them," the female voice said. I stopped, turning towards the voices in shock.

"Call Marcel." Said the male, as he flicked on his lights.

I started to run, holding on to Chloe's hand as I ran, making sure she ran as fast as she could. "They spotted us."

"But they aren't looking for us."

"Yes, they are." I said, as I grabbed her by the waist and threw her over the fence. She was fast, going from all fours to running behind the shed before I even hit the ground next to where I had thrown her.

I ran after her, hiding behind the dull metal shed. She stood pressed against the shed, face turned so her cheek rested on the metal as she gave a few pants of air. Then she straightened and turned. "How-?"

"I heard them say, "It's them." And, "Call Marcel."

"Marcel?" She repeated, trying to place it. "Isn't that Dr. Davidoff's name?"

"Yeah, and something tells me it's not common enough to be a coincidence." The car drove near as Chloe spoke.

"But how-"

I quickly covered her mouth as they drove close. I leaned down, smelling her shampoo as I said, "They're circling the block. I hear voices. They must have the windows down, listening for us."

I removed my hand and Chloe stared at the shed, thinking hard about something.

"Tori." She whispered quietly, almost as if to herself.

"What?"

"Tori found out about our escape. That's why she was so quiet. She didn't give up; she was-"

I shook my head as I heard the car turn the corner behind us. "Doesn't matter. They're heading down that road. Come one." I nudged her towards the factory, away from the car. "The factory is at the end. We just need to make it that far. Run on the grass- it's quieter." Would we really be okay once we reached the factory? Sure, we could hide in a warehouse, but it wasn't fool-proof. We could still fail. I looked at the tiny girl who was running beside me. I couldn't let them get her. She couldn't go back. She would definitely be transferred.

I had to protect her, I had to protect Simon, and I had to try like hell not to get caught. Fuckity-fuck-fuck.


	33. Shot

Internet was out last night and the day before. Yay! Actually, it's surprisingly not yay! But that's cool. Here ya go my fellow Darklings. Getting so close to the end of the book! Ah, the suspense. Read, Review, and as always, Enjoy!

Bookninja: Thank you for always responding and telling me how you feel, even if it's only a few words. I really appreciate that even though I don't usually respond to them. So here's my heartfelt thank you. Runinplace: Welcome! And Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed my chapter :) Jimmy'sMama: Welcome! And thank you! I'm glad you enjoy them. Yes, I believe I will be doing all three. Hopefully within a timely manner :) Clereklover: Demanding, aren't you? XD KakiTenshi: Yeah, the flutters! I remember them so well! Yeah, it sucks but it'll get better :) Then its summer! Roxi90:Our parents would not let us watch Disney movies if there was a song about that. Lol SilverZenkoKitsune: Thanks. And I'm not going to put in spoiler alert. If you keep reading past the point you've read in the books, that is not my fault! You've gotta be your own judge sometimes. Besides, reading FanFic at all can be Spoiler alert. Just what I think though :). Psalms: Welcome! And thanks. I'm glad you agree with how I portray Derek. And no, I'm not Kelley Armstrong. I'd be much richer if I were lol. Kelley Miley: Nope. Not forgotten, just busy as fuck. (Have I ever mentioned I swear as much in real life as my Derek does? Actually, more than Derek does.) I can see how youd think it would get forgotten though. I love my fanfic so I don't think I could walk away though. I'm rereading the awakening at the same time as writing this and all I think the entire time is "What would Derek think here?". Lol. Anyways, I'm trying to make this part a little less quick paced because I never liked how it explained almost nothing once they started running. So I'm going to try and make it more detailed. Let me know how I'm doing k?

Derek's Point of View

We ran between the sidewalk and the road, moving fast. We were quiet by regular standards on the grass, but I winced internally every time we hit a driveway. The _twap-twap_ of our feet echoed off the otherwise silent streets. Chloe raced ahead of me as I kept an eye on her and the streets around us. Only five houses until the factory, four houses, three. Shit.

I looked ahead of me and saw a chain-link fence, taller than me and encircling the parking lot of the factory. There was a gate to left of us, but the chains and padlock told me that was not an option. We ran until we were right up on it, the fence dwarfing Chloe as I faced her. "Up." I said, as I stopped. She grabbed the fence, hands whitened as she grabbed a hold of the links. She started to climb as fast as she could. I reached under her feet to help her boost up higher, but she shook her head and waved her hand upwards, telling me to climb, too. I started to climb and with my abilities, I reached the top as she did.

As we neared the top, the blackness was cut by light. Two twin circles of yellow lit up the parking lot ahead of us. A car was coming and it accelerated as it came. Chloe glanced over her shoulder, trying to see it.

"Go, go, go!" I whispered as the SUV started to stop. It had been going to fast and now the driver stomped on the breaks, to avoid hitting the fence. The noise of braking filled the night as they squealed.

Chloe immediately started for the ground, pulling herself over the side and began to climb down. I tensed myself, trying to judge if I would be hurt by jumping. It was only eight feet. A regular person could be fine from this jump. I jumped and landed on the ground, my legs slightly bent to absorb the fall. I spun around, and looked up at Chloe who was only mid-way down. "Jump! I've got you."

She let go, trusting that I would catch her. I grabbed her sides as she fell and then turned around so that we were facing where we would be running. I set her down and gave her a solid push towards the factory.

"Derek! Chloe!" A woman's voice rang through the dark. I saw Chloe glance back, not slowing.

Her eyes widened and she shouted, "Gun!"

I glanced back, disbelievingly.

There was a man and a woman at the fence. The woman was small with gray hair and she stood gripping the fence in her small hands. I hardly noticed that. What I did notice was the man holding a gun aimed for us. For Chloe. I heard the tiny pop as it released and I could hear it as it whizzed through the air.

I lunged for Chloe, afraid I would not make it in time. I slammed into her, both of us sliding sideways. I heard the bullet fly closer, then I felt a tiny pinprick of pain. We crashed into a pile of wooden pallets and felt them slam down on us. I was hit in the back and legs and once on my head as the rained down. I tried to keep them from hitting Chloe, but all I managed was to keep them off of her head. They hit her frail back and shoulders while others hit mine.

Chloe was up as soon as the boxes stopped pushing her down. She dove behind the next stack of pallets, avoiding any other bullets as I rushed up and followed. Neither of us stopped until we reached the factory wall, running alongside it until we found a delivery bay. I spotted the metal bin in the entrance and pulled Chloe in next to me.

Chloe bent over, panting hard. She straightened and looked at me eyes wide with disbelief.

"Th-they sh-shot at us." Her stutter was so prominent I could hardly understand her. Her eyes glistened as if she was about to cry. Shit. Then she looked away, staring at a wall. "No. I must have- A radio maybe." She said, trying to come up with an explanation. "Or maybe a cellphone. I made a mistake."

"You didn't." I said, voice low as I reached around my back to where the tiny prick had been. As I did, my hand felt a lump entwined in my shirt.

"B-but they _sh-shot_ at us. They tried to kill us. Th-that doesn't make any sense."

I pulled at the lump, freeing the cold metal from my shirt carefully. A tranquilizer dart lay in my hand, the metal shining dully in the light. It was light in my palm.

"It caught in my shirt." I told her, as she stared at it in disbelief. "It nicked me, but it shouldn't matter. It'd take a lot to knock me out." I didn't even feel the least bit sleepy. My natural system and the fact that I had tons of adrenaline surging through me kept the drugs from even being the slightest bother.

"Knock you out?" She said, her voice strangely delicate. It seemed like she was about to lose her mind. She looked up at me, the lost little kid in her eyes staring up into mine. "It's a tranquilizer dart?"

"I think so." I stared at it. "Never seen one outside of a nature show."

She stared at it, eyes full of worry. "I d-don't understand."

I got it. I could understand why she would be confused. Why would a group home ever shoot at kids, even with tranqs? "Neither do I? Point is, they want us back. _Bad_. All the more reason to keep going." I allowed to tranq to roll off of my hand, dropping to the ground with a clang. I headed to the entrance of the delivery bay and stuck my head into the night air, inhaling deeply. The air was infused with the smell of smoke and metal. The passing of people was all around, their smells lingering softly in the night. But I knew what I was looking for. A newer scent than the other people, there was Simon. He had passed by with Rae, not too far from our hideout. "Simon's here. He's not close, but he's been past recently."

She glanced at the factory yard behind me. "You can find him?"

"Yeah." I turned, running my hands through my hair and grimaced when I felt the grease in it. We had to lie low until the guy with the tranqs gave up looking for us. "Right now, though, I'm going to trust he can look after himself and worry about us. He'll lie low until he sees you. We should find a place to do the same until they move on."

The doors behind Chloe caught my attention. I had noticed them when we had ran into the space, but only momentarily.

I walked to them and grabbed the handle, pulling hard. It didn't budge. I turned around seeing Chloe glancing at the yard.

"It looks like a warehouse back there. You mentioned something about that friday? That it'd make a good place to hide?"

I glanced over her shoulder at the darkened yard. "That one's too near the factory to be abandoned." I looked closely for any sign of movement around the building. "But it'll do for now. I should be able to break in."

So we started across the yard.


	34. Scratch

Okay, I'm not going to make empty promises anymore. I'll update when I can and I'll write when I can. Hopefully, I won't disappear into a dark alleyway again. Thanks for staying true to my story, dears.

Derek's Point of View

The door was locked, but I grabbed the handle and jerked it hard enough for the cheap lock to give way. I was the first in, eyes surveying the warehouse, with Chloe following closely.

In the giant room before us were large rolls of steel, rows upon rows that had so many crevices and other places we could hide that it seemed like the first time we had had any luck all night. We hadn't moved very far into the room when I heard someone outside. I laid my hands on Chloe's shoulder and guided her in, almost pushing her in. I followed and only a a few breathes later, Dr. Davidoff's voice echoed through the warehouse from the door.

"Derek? I know you're here. It's Dr. Davidoff." I turned my head to his voice, both tracking where he was and trying to figure out why he wasn't having the place ransacked already.

"Derek? I know you don't want to do this. You want to get better. You can't do that by running away." Dr. Davidoff started pacing back and forth outside the door. While he did that, people entered the building quietly. I quickly counted them. "Four- no, five sets of footsteps. All separate. Searching."

"Derek? You know you shouldn't be out here. Its not safe." I flinched back, worry filling me again. It's not safe for everyone else. I glanced at the short girl next to me who's eyes were turned toward the front of the building where Dr. Davidoff's voice came from. I could get mad and crush her so easily. "You don't want to hurt anyone. I know that, and you know you need our help to get better."

He was right. This is what would be best, except... How had Dr. Gill known? But she hadn't known about me. And what if she were the only one? I could be safe if I went back, so would the rest of the world.

"I could go. Create a distraction so you can escape." I looked down at her and saw the look on her face. Naked fear. I hurriedly tried to soothe her. "Simon's around. You just need to find-"

"You're going _back_?" After they shot at you?" Her fear wasn't fear for herself but shock and fear for me. I ignored the tightening in my chest at the realization.

"Just tranqualizers." It wasn't lethal or anything.

"Just? _Just_? They're hunting us, Derek. Dr. Gill knows what I am." Her voice had risen to almost dangerous levels in her anger.

"_She_ knew. That doesn't mean _they_ do."

"Are you sure?" That question stopped me, cold. In all my rationalizing, I had been trying hard to see Dr. Gill as a one-off. If she were the only on who knew, then we would be okay. I could even go back and everything would work out in the end.

"Derek?" I turned again to face the door, listening. "Please. I want to make this easy for you, but you need to make it easy for us. Come out now and we'll talk. That's it. Just talk. No disciplinary action will be taken and we won't transfer you."

It was so tempting. To be honest, I was afraid. Afraid of being free, afraid of being able to hurt. I didn't want to live with anymore guilt. I felt myself move in small, rocking movements, indecision causing me to move.

"If you don't come out, Derek, we will find you, and you will be transferred... to a juvenile detention center for kidnapping Chloe."

Before I could really register what he was saying, Chloe's high pitched voice rose to dangerous amounts as she began to screech, "Kid-." I shoved my hand out and over her face before she could get out another sound.

"You already have a documented history of inappropriate behavior towards her." Chloe pointed at her mouth and made a zipper motion over my hand, trying to tell me she would be quiet. I moved my hand. "When the police see that, and hear our corroborating statements, you will be in a lot of trouble, Derek, and I know you don't want that. Even if she defends you, it won't matter to the police. You're a sixteen year old boy running away with a fourteen year old girl." Davidoff gave a pause and I could see his point, but it was his earlier arguments that were running through my head. "You do realize she's only fourteen, don't you, Derek?" What did he think I was running away for all the hot action? Adults can be so fucking clueless.

Chloe, at his words, started to shake her head so hard, I thought she'd give herself brain damage. "He's lying. I turned fifteen last month." Oh, well that changes nothing really.

Davidoff couldn't hear her fervent whisper and continued, "To the police, it will be a clear case of kidnapping and interference, possibly even sexual assault."

"Sexual-!" Chloe squeaked, obviously aghast at such a prospect. I glared at her for her inability to remain quiet.

"It's your choice, Derek. Make this hard and you'll only hurt yourself." I snorted. Hurting myself? Not a chance. I really didn't care about what happened to me as long as others were safe. Like Simon. To get Simon safe, I'd have to get Chloe safe. As I gazed down at her, I realized that this too smart, too troublesome girl was someone I wanted to be safe too. At least reasonably so.

"Stay here. I'm going to find a way out."

I could see that she wanted to argue, to tell me that I had a bad plan for whatever reason. But instead she closed her mouth and stayed where she was.

I crept into the darkness alone.

I walked along, listening to the footsteps of the people searching the ware house, easily staying away from their flashlights. I moved to the wall and edged along it toward a board nailed to the wall. Someone had done an awful job of hanging it. Two nails weren't even in the board anymore. I managed to slip my large fingers under the board and pry it away from the wall with a small whisper of sound. Behind it, lay a window pane with parts of a shattered window laying all over it. This wasn't a good spot. Too dangerous and conspicuous. Then I heard one of the searchers begin to get close to the spot where I had left Chloe._ Time to go._ I crept back to the spot where she was hiding and motioned for her to follow.

She followed me quietly to the window. I carefully pushed the glass onto the ground, then I laced my hands together so Chloe could boost herself up. She placed her tiny foot in my hands, then carefully boosted herself up. She really weighed nothing. She began to make her way through the window when, from nearby, a door banged.

"Chloe? Derek? I know you're in here. The door was broken." _Yeah, well, we aren't. But you keep looking right over there and I'll stay over here._

Chloe jerked forward. I heard a rip of cloth, the tinkling of a shard of glass hitting the ground, and then the sound of her tumbling through the window. I heaved myself up the window as Chloe ran across the yard to a nearby tarp. As she ran, I smelled blood on the breeze. I sprang through the window. _Fuck. _

I easily caught up to Chloe just as she reached the tarp. She crawled underneath it. I started to crawl in behind her, shoving her so she would move farther up as I crawled as low to the ground as possible. This close, the smell of blood was overwhelming. _How bad is she bleeding?_

"You're hurt."

"Just a scratch."

"No, it's not." I reached out and grabbed her arm, straightening it so that I would be able to get a better look. A hiss of pain came from Chloe as she tried to cover up a gasp. The blood scent was only growing as she bled.

I very carefully started to roll up her sleeve. When I saw the damage, I couldn't stop myself from saying, "Fuck."

"Bad?"

It looked like a quick cut, not ragged. However, "Deep." Her wound was bleeding all over her. I could see her heartbeat as her heart pumped blood outside the wound. "Gotta stop the bleeding. We need a bandage."

I knew my shirt, trashed with the sweat and other gross things from my change, was a poor substitute for a real bandage, but I began to pull it off anyways. We could clean the damn thing later so long as she didn't pass out or worse from blood loss.

"Hold on. That's all you've got. I'm layered up."

I immediately turned my head away, staring intently at the dim light peeking through the end of the tarp. Very, very intently. My wolf was on high alert, wanting to see. Even he wouldn't have done anything with the injured girl, but the thought of seeing her in her bra...

_Woah. No. What?_ Chloe is a shrimp. Probably has nothing even if I wanted to see anything. Which I didn't. At all. No. Hell no. Not from her.

I heard the small hiss from her as she put back on her sweatshirt then she wordless handed me the tee shirt. I hadn't heard anyone except for the people inside searching. I began to rip the shirt into strips.

Chloe's eyes went wide in fear and she stopped breathing as I ripped the first rip. "No one's around." I tried to calm her. "I can hear them searching the warehouse."

I would the bundle of strips around her arm, keeping the pressure tight enough to slow the bleeding, but not so tight as to suffocate her arm. I heard another set of footsteps approach. It went directly from where we had came into the yard to the warehouse. When they stepped inside, calling to a woman named, "Pam," I could hear the return answer and I could hear them begin to discuss where we could be in the warehouse.

"They're in the warehouse now. Time to move. I'll try picking up Simon's scent. Follow my lead."


	35. Showtime

This is the last chapter of this book. It took a long ass time to get here, but here we are. ENJOY!

Derek's POV

The yard was covered in debris and odd assortments of things. Moving quickly, I began to cross through, forced to pick a quick pace by the people behind us. Chloe was having a hard time of following behind and after the forth time she smacked some part of her body into whatever was lying around, I slowed as much as we could. It wasn't enough to keep her from rapping her limbs on stuff, but it was now less frequent.

Finally, after 27 (No idea why I counted) hits, I smelled Simon and then after some concentration, recognized Rae's scent, both covered in cigarette smoke. "Got him," and I pointed to where it was coming from. As we neared, Simon leaned out, then seeing us, pulled back.

A second later, Rae stepped out into the open and started to wave her arms as if we weren't already bee-lining to them. Then Simon pulled her back in.

Seeing Simon released a tension in me. They were safe. And now, I supposed, we would be sticking together. I hadn't realized before how being left alone was stressing me out. I only had two people in the world and now one of them was MIA and here I was sending the other off to find the first. No matter how good the reasoning was, the stress had been there, and now, it was gone. Not that there wasn't a hell of a lot of other stress now. What with the people after us, the tranq guns in those people's hands, and let's not even mention the small fact that we were now homeless with two girls we hardly knew.

As Chloe and I stepped into the alcove, the first thing out of anyone's mouth was Rae saying, "What are you doing here?" The harsh question was directed at me. Her voice was a whisper, but the alarmed tone and the discomfort on her face screamed at me. "You're supposed to be-"

"Change of plans."

Simon had one of his easy smiles on his face. "Good to see you, bro." He slapped my back, and I was grateful for at least the one happy face. "I was worried Chloe'd never find us. There's a whole bunch of people looking for us."  
"I know."

Simon did another one of his lean outs to check the courtyard outside the building. Then he walked over to Chloe, giving her the backpack that she had packed.

"You okay?"

She nodded. "They have guns."

Rae's mouth dropped open and looked like a perfect circle. "What? No way. They'd never-"

To ease the girl's face and to prevent a meltdown, I interrupted. "Tranq guns."

"Oh.' Rae nodded.

"Who've you seen?" I said, turning to Simon.

"Van Dop, Davidoff, and, I think, Talbot, but I'm not sure. No sign of Gill." No, there wouldn't be after I almost broke her head open.

"She's back at the house." Chloe explained. "But there are two more we didn't recognize. A man and a woman." She looked at me. "Undercover cops, you think?"

"No idea. We'll worry about that later. Right now, we're sitting ducks. We need to get out of here."

I crept to the side of the alcove and looked out into the night.

Behind me, I heard Simon's murmur, "Thanks. For finding him. Was everything okay?"

"Later," I said, not wanting to get caught having to lie to him because of Rae's presence. "There's another warehouse father back, with broken windows. It's probably abandoned. If we can get to that-"

"Chloe? What's all over your sleeve?" I turned. Fuck. I had forgotten about her arm in trying to get to safety. "It looks like..." She reached her arm out and touched the bandage. "Oh, my god. You're bleeding. You're really bleeding."

Simon ducked around to the side that was injured. "It's soaked." It was true. In just a ten minutes, the bandage had bled through to the top of the fabric."What-"

"Just a cut." She said, trying to wave it off.

"It's deep. She needs stitches." I told them.

"I don't-"

"She needs stitches. I'll figure something out." Sure, I would. Like what? We can't let her bleed anymore and where would I find someone to do stitches? "For now-" The sound of approaching footsteps interrupted me and made me jump back from the opening of the alcove. "Shit. They're coming." I looked around the alcove. It was deep enough for shadows, but not big enough to hide in and lacked anything to hide behind or in. It was such an obvious hiding spot for someone to choose. "This is the lousiest hiding place."

"I know." Simon said. "I wanted to find a better one, but..." He looked at Rae, telling a story of how the girl thought she knew best.

"What's wrong with here? It's completely dark. They won't see me."

"Until they shine a flashlight on you."

"Oh."

There was one door leading into the building. I grabbed it and tried to pull it open. Locked. Of course. Well, if I had to be a big, bad werewolf...

Time to blow down the door. Kinda.

I braced my feet, then put my hands on the door handle. Science tells us that an object is only as strong as it's weakest point. A door's is almost always the handle. I heaved my body against the door. My muscles all arched and flexed. Even with having had changed tonight, even with being exhausted to the point that I was, I felt the door start to give. Then all at once, it surrendered, flying open. The noise was loud, too loud.

I waved the others inside. "Find cover!"

We ran down a hallway filled with doors, some open, some closed, giving the building a creepy abandoned feeling. Rae, dumbass that she is, tried going into the first room she saw. I pushed her past it. "Keep going!"

I increased my speed so that I could be in the front. We soon came to a second hallway. As we did, I slowed, then stopped. I put my finger up so all would be quiet.

The door opened. Four people stepped inside, Two immediately coming our way and two calling back that the door had been already open and that this must be where we were.

"We've got to get out. Split up. Find an exit. Any exit. Then whistle, but softly. I'll hear you." With that, we rounded the corner and all went our own ways.

I had been searching for only minutes when I heard a shriek that was quickly cut off. It sounded like Chloe. Feet moving before I had a second to think, I was quickly running over to her.

I turned a corner and saw Simon and Chloe clutched together, his hands on her head, her face in his shoulder. A pain, most likely from running on such exhausted terms, ripped through me as I saw them. At least that was what I was telling myself.

"What happened?"

At my voice, Chloe pulled away from Simon. His eyes stayed on her, lingering lovingly.

"A ghost." Chloe looked down, abashed. "I'm sorry."

Any explanation would have to wait as I heard the footsteps heading closer. Human hearing couldn't tell exactly where we were, but the shriek had been loud enough to give them a general direction. "Someone heard. We gotta go."

Chloe turned to leave and stopped, staring at the wall intently. I looked to where she was mesmerized.

"It's r-repeating. Like a film loop." The fear in her eyes shot a feeling of unrest through me. "Nevermind. We-"

"Have to _go" _I finished, pushing her along so that she couldn't see the ghost anymore. "Move!" I said as I heard the footsteps even closer.

We started down the hallway and then a piercing whistle shot out in the dark. My ears rang form the noise.

"Did I say softly?"

We turned two corners until we were in the hallway that Rae had found. She was standing near a door marked EXIT. She lifted her hands to push it open upon seeing our group.

"Don't!" I hurried to reach her. Taking the door, I carefully opened it a crack listening for footsteps. I could hear none except the ones behind us. I opened it a little further and smelled the air. I smelled the warehouse smells mixed with cigarettes. No one was anywhere near. I pushed the door open and looked around. The warehouses were further away on this side of the factory.

"See that warehouse?" I said pointing to one that was in front of us.

"The one, like a mile back there?" Rae's voice clearly disapproved.

"Quarter mile, tops. Now go. We're right behind-" I heard footsteps running towards our hallway, too close and too fast. "They're coming. They heard the whistle. You guys go. I'll distract them, then follow.

"Uh-uh." Simon said. "I've got your back." He turned to Chloe and I winced. I could take care of it. "Chloe, take Rae and run." Rae looked irritated to have to be 'taken' to safety.

I started to argue, only managing to open my mouth before Simon cut me off.

"You want distractions?" He whispered the incantation for fog and I watched it rise uphappily. "I'm your guy" Turning back to Chloe, he said, "Go. We'll catch up."

Chloe looked at us, wanting to stay and help, wanting to say something, but instead she turned to Rae after a moment. Feeling like I had to say something, give some direction to calm her, I pushed past Simon until I was near her. "Get in the warehouse and don't leave. For one hour, don't even peek out. If we don't come, find a place to hole up. We'll be back."

"Count on it." Simon said.

"Don't stay in the warehouse if it's dangerous, but that'll be our rendezvous point. Keep checking in. If you can't stay, find a way to leave a note. We will meet you there. Got it?"

Chloe nodded numbly. I felt the strangest urge to touch her on her shoulder and tell her it would be okay.

We heard the searchers call out, "They must be back here. Search every room."

I pushed Chloe through the door and turned away, towards the voices. After a moment, Simon said, "Showtime." I heard Chloe run and I stepped toward the voices.


End file.
